The Other End of The Spectrum
by AnotherChance
Summary: The third installment in my 'She Walked Upon A Cloud' series this time the gods have sent Sarah to Coruscant. Little does she know the mission will be strife with danger but she may have guessed... Dun Dun Dun... Read and Review! COMPLETE mild XO with TP
1. ProPrologue

Pro-Prologue:

Sarah Gibson was once an ordinary person, like you or me. She went to high school, had aspirations to be a doctor, and indulged in the occasional starburst binge, so like any other teenager you might know.

But Sarah was never going to become a doctor, or even finish high school. One night, after a particularly horrendous starburst binge, under the guise of a familiar nightmare she was pulled into the world of Tortall, a world where mages, knights and medieval kings weren't just the stuff of fairy tales. There, she was told she was to become the 'Messenger for the Gods', a warrior that set about to do the gods bidding.

Her first mission? Defeat the Three Sorrows, Slaughter, Starvation and Malady. It was a success, but only just barely.

The second mission, to protect a boy named Harry Potter and help him defeat an evil dark wizard, went scarcely better as her existence in his universe was strife with killing curses and battles on broomsticks.

Her third mission is looming, though she doesn't know it, and presents itself with an entirely new kind of evil and new challenges for her to face…


	2. Prologue

She Walked Upon A Cloud Sequel 2: Star Wars

Sarah entered the library, waving at the librarian, who glowered in return. _So he's in here then… no doubt pestering her all day_. She checked around the shelves as she passed; she found Numair curled up in the corner, at the end of the very last shelf, clutching a very old tome as he read hurriedly. As she drew closer she noticed the title and shook her head. Out loud, she muttered, "A History of Magic; I might have known."

He glanced up before returning to his reading. "Oh, Sarah, hi… can you get out of my light? I'm trying to read this section on wand making…"

She shook her head and yanked him to his feet. "Do you remember the promise you made when I _finally_ agreed to bring you here, to Hogwarts?"

He looked thoughtful. "Um… No?" He supplied helpfully, an innocent expression on his face.

"Yes you do." She began tugging him along the length of the shelf. "You promised that if I brought you here you wouldn't hide in the library the entire time. You promised you wouldn't be antisocial."

He drew himself up to his full height, trying to look imposing. "I never. I distinctly remember crossing my fingers behind my back as I said those things."

Sarah shook her head. "It's lunch time, anyway. Come on, I'll introduce you to the house elves, later."

"House elves? Are they some type of immortal?" He asked, intrigued.

"Not exactly. But later. Lunch now. Get moving." She shoved him out the door, noticing a relieved expression on the librarian's face.

As they strode down the corridor, Sarah noticed a figure striding towards them. "Professor Dumbledore! Please, help me distract Numair from the library, escort us to lunch."

His face lit with a small smile, his eyes danced. "Master Salmalin, perhaps you would enjoy a conversation with Professor McGonagall? She is an animagus; I'm sure you'd find the topic fascinating."

His eyes lit up, "What's an animagus…" He trailed off as Daine rounded the corner, accompanied by a cackling Alanna, and two very mischievous red headed twins. What had shocked him so thoroughly was the state of his wife; she was bright green, from head to toe; her gaze was thunderous.

She opened her mouth, about to speak, but Alanna whispering in her ear stopped her. Sarah appraised the twins, amused, as they approached the black robe mage, holding out a bag of sweets. "Master Salmalin, care for a lolly?" Sarah guessed it was Fred speaking.

"Completely sugar free, they are." George added.

He absently reached into the bag, his eyes still on Daine. "What happened to you?" He asked, before popping a purple jelly bean shaped lolly in his mouth.

Daine watched carefully as he chewed, a grin spreading over her face as she cleared her throat. "That."

Numair looked confused, and then shocked as his face, hands, every part of his visible skin turned purple. His fingers began to swell, growing to the shape and size of balloons. He looked first to Sarah, and then to the twins. "What have you done?" He asked, his voice dripping with ice as everyone gathered, Daine included, laughed hysterically. The twins stopped laughing, yelped, and ran down the corridor as Numair turned on them, black fire sparkling around his fingers.

Sarah sighed and whipped out her wand, pointing it at the two Tortallans. "Finite." _Lucky they made them easy to undo… Just imagine if it weren't so easy_, she thought as Daine and Numair slowly returned to their natural colours. When they had, the group continued down the corridor towards the dining hall.

When they entered the room, Sarah noticed a woman with bright pink hair sitting next to a young Slytherin; McGonagall had insisted the girl stop sitting with the Gryffindors at the behest of some of the less trusting students; the metamorphagus was glaring at the Slytherins as they glared at them. Sarah separated from the group and made her way over, plonking herself down next to Amelia, grinning brightly at the third year that glared venomously at her.

"Tonks! When did you get here?" She asked, delighted to see the metamorphagus Auror after five months away from Hogwarts.

"Wotcher Sarah! You left without saying goodbye!" Tonks stood and tugged the girl into a tight hug.

When the metamorphagus had released her, Sarah blushed. "Well… I don't really get a choice as to when or where I go, not with the Gods in charge. I was told I had to leave then and there… I'm really sorry…"

"Nonsense. Harry explained all that. How have you been?" They sat down again, much to the annoyance of the other Slytherin students.

"I've been good; building my fief up, you know, building farms and digging mines to start bringing the money in… but anyway, you don't want to hear about that! How are you going?" Sarah turned her attention to the now second year student sitting next to the Auror. "And how are you going, Amelia?"

Tonks gave Sarah an uncertain look, and Amelia grinned shyly. "Well, after Harry killed Voldemort the Ministry wanted to put Amelia in a home." Sarah frowned at this. "So… I adopted her."

Her frown turned into a bright grin. "Congratulations! I'm assuming this is a good thing?"

Tonks shoved her as Amelia giggled. "Of course it is!"

Sarah couldn't help grinning from ear to ear. "I-"

She was cut off by a loud crack, and several screams. She groaned and banged her head against the table, even as the Slytherins twisted and shifted nervously in their seats. "I've only been here for three days… Why now?" She sighed and lifted her head, standing and turning to see Mithros, God of War and Justice, standing at the front of the room.

Alanna, Daine and Numair stood and bowed; Sarah didn't bother. "Do I get a week to prepare?"

"No." He answered.

"Three days." She asked, hopeful.

"No." He crossed his arms across his chest.

"A day." She was getting desperate.

"No." He narrowed his eyes.

She grew frustrated. "At least let me finish my lunch and take them home!" Sarah gestured emphatically at Tortallans sitting at the Gryffindor table.

He replied coolly. "We will return the others. You will leave now."

She sighed and picked up a chicken drumstick from her plate, chomping into it before saying, "Fine. Alanna, can you ask Kris to keep the fief running until I get home? And can you help him with any problems he might have?"

The red head nodded seriously. "Of course. Good luck, Sarah."

Sarah nodded and turned to Daine and Numair. "Say goodbye to the rest of them for me, would you?" They nodded, and Sarah trotted to the god, who promptly plucked the chicken from her fingers, and her wand from her sleeve. She started to protest, but he held up a hand to halt it.

"Find some friends in high places." He advised mysteriously.

She screwed up her face. "A little more of an explanation, please? What kind of advice is that?"

He narrowed his eyes. "You must protect these three children." He showed an image of three children, each with brown hair, two boys and a girl. The two older children had slightly lighter hair and brown eyes; the younger boy had darker hair and ice blue eyes.

"How am I meant to find them?" She asked, eyes never leaving the image.

"We can not provide you with all the answers." He responded, and before she knew it she was swept off her feet, reappearing, disoriented, in an alley.

There was cheering coming from the street outside; Sarah looked down to notice her clothes had changed; she was now wearing a different tunic shirt, in an unusual style, and some stiff trousers. She frowned before heading out into the street. Her jaw dropped; there were many different figures surrounding a pedestal; most were dressed in the same manner as Sarah. That wasn't what shocked her; what shocked her were the creatures that permeated the crowd.

There was a humanoid with a fish head and pink skin, its large black eyes swivelling in their sockets as they watched the spectacle. There were others of its kind, and standing next to one of them was what looked like a walking carpet; it was at least seven feet tall and it roared its approval at the speaker's words. Another creature, with what looked like tentacles coming from the back of his head clapped his hands together as the tentacles twitched.

Sarah tried taking a step back, the crowd had grown behind her, it pushed her forward. She focused on the figure at the pedestal; it was a petite woman, this one human, who seemed to be making a speech. "The continued bravery of the members of our military has the Empire on the backfoot; through further bravery the Empire will be defeated, and more worlds liberated from their grasp. There has been loss…" Sarah tuned out the rest of the speech, instead focusing on the environment that surrounded her, noticing they appeared to be on a platform high in the air, connecting two buildings.

_Where am I this time?_ She wondered, a grimace on her face. The woman had stopped speaking, now armed guards were clearing a path through the crowd; Sarah found herself at the front of the crowd, even as aliens pressed themselves against her in an attempt to get closer to the woman, who was waving to the crowd on her way to a car, which didn't appear to have any wheels. Her body guards were grim faced, grey skinned aliens; they watched the crowd warily, waiting for an attack.

The lady had just passed, Sarah felt moved to turn around, her face turning upwards. There, in the window ten stories up, a man wearing goggles, staring intently at the woman who had made the speech. And in his hands was what looked like a long barrelled sniper rifle. _It might be a good idea to save the woman._ Mithros' voice whispered in her ear. Sarah turned back to the woman, who had only stepped two steps since she had turned around.

Sarah ducked under the arms of the guards, moving the distance to the woman in a flash, knocking her to one side as she heard an angry whine and a burning lance speared through her shoulder. People in the crowd screamed; the guards surged, carrying both the woman and Sarah along with them towards awaiting cars. The woman was swept into the first waiting floating car; Sarah barely registered as she was shoved into the back of another.

She sat back against the seat, squeezing her eyes shut as she clutched her shoulder. Sarah barely noticed the two guards that got in behind her, one sitting next to her, one across from her. The woman sitting next to her gently pried her fingers from the wound, hissing in sympathy. The man across from her passed the other guard what looked like a bandage from the medical kit that sat on his knee, and the woman applied pressure.

Sarah was sweating profusely, and had to bite her lip to stop herself from crying out when the woman pressed the bandage against the wound. "What's your name, kid?" The woman's voice was kind.

"S-Sarah." She managed to get out through gritted teeth.

"I'm Yeoman Jasmenda, my partner's Yeoman Carrel." She gestured to the man sitting across from her. "What you did was a brave thing. You risked your life to save Chief of State Leia Organa Solo."

Sarah took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to get control of herself before she responded. "Nothing either of you two wouldn't have done, I'm sure."

That seemed to put a cork in the woman's mouth, she didn't say another thing as Sarah pressed herself into the back of her seat, the pain causing her to moan as the vehicle slowed to a stop, and the door opened to the view of several men in white coats, one pushing a stretcher, which also floated. "We were told there was someone injured in a shooting?"

Sarah nodded, muttering, "Yeah, me…"

She was whisked gently out of the vehicle, onto the waiting stretcher. She squeezed her eyes shut against the bright sky, clutching her shoulder once again. Metallic fingers pried her hand away from the wound, she opened her eyes and stared into the face of a robot, her breath catching in her throat. _What kind of world have I fallen into this time?_

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Sarah opened her eyes slowly, trying to muster some saliva to clear her mouth; it felt like it had been stuffed with cottonballs. _That's right… they gave me something to put me to sleep._ Her head was muzzy, and as she sat up she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

"You're up." The voice beside her made her jump. It was the woman that delivered the speech, and her eyes were full of apology. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Sarah shook her head, trying to grin. She only managed a grimace. She stuck her left hand out, the uninjured one, and introduced her self. "My name's Sarah Gibson."

The woman watched her carefully, and Sarah remembered something that Jasmenda had mentioned. _She's the Chief of State. I probably shouldn't have introduced myself so carefree…_ "I-I'm sorry… the drug must've knocked the sense out of me. Are you alright, Chief of State? You were uninjured?" Sarah stood to bow, but stopped when she started swaying.

The woman pushed her back onto the bed and met her eyes. "Yes, I was uninjured, thanks to your quick actions. You saved my life, and I thank you. If there is anything I can do for you…"

Sarah pursed her lips thoughtfully, and the lady continued. "A place to stay, for example…"

Sarah frowned. "What makes you think I don't already have a place to stay?"

The lady met her eyes squarely. "Your clothes appeared rather old and battered… I'm sorry if I offended you, I thought you might not have a home."

_Not here I don't_. Sarah thought, before clearing her throat, embarrassed. "Truth be told, I don't have a place to stay." She was seething inwardly at Mithros for clothing her in the manner he had. "I'll be fine though, I can look after myself."

Chief of State Leia Organa Solo shook her head, but was her response was interrupted by a scruffy head peeking through the door. "Leia, I think we should get out of here. The media is amassing out front, it's just a matter of time before the back's cut off too."

"In a minute Han." He shrugged, grinning lopsidedly, and entered the room, closing it behind him. The older woman gestured to the man. "This is my husband, Han Solo."

Sarah nodded, and he spoke. "Thanks for saving my wife's life, kid. Anything you need, give us a shout."

Their faces triggered a memory, and she recognized hints of the children she was supposed to protect in their eyes, noses and mouths. _They must be related._ Leia excused herself, pulling Han to the door, whispering in his ear.

When Leia turned back to the girl resting against the pillows, her face was serious. "With that injury you'll need someone to help you around; if you didn't have the injury I'd have arranged some private quarters for you. As it is… Han has agreed with me, we want you to stay with us for the night, until we can get something organised. Even if I pull some strings I won't be able to get anything organised until tomorrow; business is closed, and we have a droid shortage at the moment." (A/n, read the New Rebellion if you want to know why there's a robot shortage, ;) )

Sarah blinked. That was the last thing she was expecting. She bit her lip, thinking as fast as her muzzy brain could manage. "Um… I really don't want to be a bother."

Leia smiled softly. "It's no bother for the girl that saved my life. Are you able to walk? I know the medication can leave you disoriented…"

Sarah was already standing; she only swayed a little as she walked to the door. She gritted her teeth and gripped the door frame before continuing. When she left the room she looked around, unsure where to go. Sarah noticed the grey skinned aliens watching her closely; the minute the Solos exited the room they moved to flanking positions. Han Solo led the way; Sarah followed, falling behind almost instantly as her body refused to cooperate. Leia noticed and the group slowed down, allowing Sarah to catch up. The older woman watched her closely. "Are you sure you don't want a hover chair?"

Sarah shook her head, a dogged expression on her face. "Nope. I'm walking."

Han muttered something about being too proud for her own good; Sarah ignored him, and after what seemed like an eternity she walked through doors that _whooshed_ to find another floating car waiting, with a golden robot sitting in a seat in the back. Han hopped in the front seat; Leia slid in behind Sarah. The robot turned it's golden head to Sarah. "Hello. I am See-Threepio, Human Cyborg relations. I am fluent in over-"

"Shut it, Goldenrod." Han barked from the front. "She only just woke up."

Sarah smiled furtively. "My name's Sarah."

"It is an honour to meet you, Sarah." He spoke with a rather effeminate voice.

Sarah sat, uncomfortable for the entire trip, until they pulled up on a platform several dozen stories above where they started. Leia stood out, and offered a hand to Sarah. When she stood, a wave of dizziness washed over her, and Leia steadied her while Han came around to her other side. Together they walked inside, out of the wind of the high tower. They weaved their way through corridors to a large suite of rooms, where three uproarious children threw themselves at their parents. _That's them!_ _The ones Mithros showed me_.

"What are you three doing still up?" Leia had suddenly turned motherly, and Sarah was taken aback. Han led her to the couch in the middle of the suite.

The children were answering. "Winter told us we could stay up to make sure you were alright." The girl.

"Who's she?" The youngest boy was asking.

Leia glanced over at Sarah who was resting her eyes, leaning back against the couch. "She's the one who saved my life, remember? You saw the news feed. She jumped in front of the blaster bolt."

The youngest one, who had to be no older than five, crossed the room and plonked himself in Sarah's lap. The young woman, who had turned quite grey in the journey from her bed to this new place, opened her eyes in surprise. "Um… hi."

"What's your name?" He eyed her curiously.

"Sarah… isn't it a little past your bed time?" She asked, taken aback by his upfront questions.

"I'm Anakin, and my brother over there is Jacen, and my sister's name is Jaina. You saved our mama?" He asked again.

Sarah blinked. "Um… really, it wasn't a big deal…"

A woman with white hair appeared out of no where in the room; she ushered Anakin, Jacen and Jaina to bed before returning to the living room, where Leia and Han had taken up seats next to Sarah. "They wouldn't go to sleep until they knew you were okay, Leia. They didn't think you should have left the house so soon after an assassination attempt."

Sarah watched as the Chief of State arched an eyebrow. "And you agree with them, don't you Winter?"

Han saved Winter from answering by doing it for her. "Yes. _Everyone_ thought you should have stayed home. It wasn't the smartest thing to do; they didn't catch the guy, you know."

"They didn't?" Sarah sat up straight, her eyes alert. "You mean with all those guards you had posted all over the joint, they still couldn't catch one man?"

Leia sighed. "Coruscant is a big planet, Sarah. He got away, but they're still looking."

Sarah scrubbed her face tiredly; she was beginning to feel lightheaded again. Leia noticed this and scowled. "Where are my manners, I'll have Threepio set up the guest room; my brother sometimes stays there when he comes to visit."

Sarah nodded mutely, wanting nothing more than to forget about her mission and fall into a warm bed. When the task was complete, Sarah pulled on the sleeping garments Leia had offered her; she crawled under the covers, letting her eyes drift closed as soon as her head hit the pillow; she was asleep within seconds.

TBC….


	3. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Han found her the next morning, curled into a ball around her pillow, muttering and panting, shaking her head in her dreams. "No. No… get off a me. No..." He frowned and shook her shoulder; her eyes flew open with a gasp and she sat up hurriedly, wincing as she jostled her arm.

"What was the nightmare about, kid?" He cocked his head in concern.

When Sarah had recovered, she took one last, shuddering breath before turning to him. "Nothing important. It's all in the past."

He watched her for a moment longer before shrugging. "Breakfast is served if you want it."

Sarah heard her stomach growl and glance up to see his face painted with amusement. She smiled slightly. "I guess I could spare a bite or two…"

He chuckled, hoisting her into a standing position. "The kitchen is through there," He pointed through a doorway. "I'm going to get the kids up."

There was a table in the middle of the room; Sarah took a seat at it, waiting for occupants of the apartment to enter the kitchen and eat. The white haired woman from the night before- Winter- entered the room, setting a bottle of blue liquid on the table. "Don't bother waiting; Anakin takes forever to get out of bed. What would you prefer, cereal or nerf strips?"

_Cereal sounds safer._ She thought as she answered, "Cereal's fine."

The woman sat at a seat across from Sarah, and gestured to a container full of what looked like grains. "Go ahead."

"Oh, no, you first, I insist." Sarah demurred, hoping the woman would show her inadvertently which of the colourful liquids would go on the cereal, and which would go in the cup.

Winter shrugged, grinning lightly. "Alright..."

The blue liquid went on the cereal, the red in a cup. Sarah repeated the woman's actions as the children and Han entered the room. The children were rubbing their eyes tiredly; Sarah hid a smile as they slid sleepily into their seats. "Where's mama?" the girl, Jaina, asked, halfway into her breakfast.

"She had to leave early for a Senate meeting." Han answered with a full mouth. Sarah caught herself staring and shook her head.

"She always leaves early for meetings." Anakin muttered into his cereal.

Sarah was quietly eating her cereal and blue milk, taking tentative bites, when Anakin spoke again, elbowing her from his position in the seat besides her. "What are you still doing here?"

Sarah choked on her cereal, coughing and spluttering until she had herself under control. "If my presence is a problem here… I can leave, it's fine."

Han scowled and shook his head. "That's not what Anakin meant, and it's not what we want. He was just wondering… well… when you were going to leave, but he didn't mean for it to be now."

Sarah looked uncertain, refusing to think about the mission until her stomach was full, but continued eating quietly. Anakin continued slurping his milk, and when he opened his mouth to ask another question, Han shot him a death glare. Sarah's mouth quirked into a small smile.

"Will you play with us today?" Was the question, and Sarah blinked.

"Um… I guess that's up to your father…" Sarah trailed off, uncertain of how to deal with the situation.

It turned into a pleading match, and Sarah tuned out as she quietly ate her food. A ruckus at the door drew her concentration as she heard the protocol droid from the night before exclaiming, "Oh, Master Luke, what a surprise to see you!"

A male voice drew closer as it responded. "It's good to see you too, Threepio." A sandy blonde head poked through the door. "Hi, Han, Winter, ki- Hello, sorry I didn't realise my sister had a guest."

Sarah watched the man closely; power radiated off of him. _Is this who I'm supposed to protect the children from? Or is it someone else?_ He entered the room fully, his hand outstretched. Sarah stood, holding out her left hand. Recognition flashed in his eyes, "I heard someone had jumped in front of the blaster bolt; was that you?"

Sarah blushed. "It was nothing…"

He bowed deeply, something Sarah had not been expecting. "Thankyou. If there's anything you need…"

Sarah shrugged uncomfortably. "Thanks…" she sat back in her seat, finishing off her breakfast in silence as Luke repeated Anakin's question of a few moments ago.

"Leia's in a Senate meeting." Han answered, sipping his drink.

Luke nodded and took the spare seat, striking up a conversation with the children's caretaker as Sarah lost herself in her thought.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Sarah spent the first half of the day watching the children, trying to figure out what to do about the mission she was supposed to be on. She found herself sitting next to Jacen as he typed away at a 'datapad', Sarah was watching intently as different animals popped onto the screen.

"And what's that one?" She asked, pointing at the animal on the screen.

"A Kawokian Spider Monkey." He said, muttering the words written below the image to himself.

Sarah had noticed a few moments before that all the words were written in a different script; she had almost swore, until she remembered the seven year old child sitting beside her. She had settled for pretending as though she was testing the child, asking questions about each of the animals.

A larger creature appeared on the screen. "And that one?"

He laughed at her. "A Nerf, of course!"

"Of course…" She laughed nervously.

Sarah was saved from pretending any further when Leia walked into the room. "How was the meeting, Chief of State?"

"Hmm?" Leia had sheefs of paper in her hand, she was considering them with a frown as she responded. "Please, call me Leia. The same as always; backstabbing senators from different planets bickering for a few hours. Sarah, I have a few possibilities for places for you to stay."

"Really?" Sarah looked up from the screen, eyes flashing to the Chief of State. "What kind of possibilities?"

"Well, I've organised an apartment for you for when you have the full use of your arm back. Until then, you have two options; the first is that you continue to stay with us. The second is that you enter a facility for the care of the injured until you can use your arm properly." The woman met Sarah's eyes squarely.

She cleared her throat. "I think the care facility would be a better idea… I don't want to take Master Skywalker's room while he's on the planet…"

"Luke's here?" Leia's eyebrows shot to her hair line, and she entered the kitchen when Sarah gestured to the room.

Sarah turned her attention back to the datapad, Jacen had skipped several animals since Leia had entered the room. When Leia returned, several minutes later with the Jedi in tow, Sarah turned her attention back to the siblings. "Don't worry about kicking me out, Sarah." The Jedi Master grinned. "I have to head back to Yavin Four this afternoon to run the Jedi Academy. I was just visiting to make sure Leia was alright."

"No, no! I don't want to be a bother." Sarah insisted.

"It's no bother," was the response.

Jacen turned around, his eyes pleading. "Stay, Sarah. You're fun to have around!"

Sarah smothered a quick grin before turning back to Leia. "Are you sure it's okay?"

The older woman nodded, but scowled at her son. "You're supposed to be leaving her alone, young man, and doing your lessons."

"I am! Sarah's helping me!" He protested, pointing at the screen, which now contained a boring pie chart split into three sections.

"Ahuh. I saw that Spider Monkey on the screen when I came through the door." Luke chuckled as Leia raised an eyebrow, daring her son to refute the facts. "Now, mind the adults, I have to go back to the office; I have a meeting with Admiral Ackbar this afternoon. Sarah, will you be here when I get back?"

Sarah shrugged and nodded. "I guess. I just don't want to be a problem." _I don't want to be caught out here… I got too close last time and blew it on the first day._

"You aren't. I'll see you when you get back." Luke followed her out the door, returning a few minutes later to say goodbye to the children.

He gave Sarah a little wave as he strode out the door; Sarah let out a sigh and stood, "Jacen, mind your mother, do your lessons. I'm going to lie down for a little while."

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

The evening came, and Leia returned with a frown creasing her forehead. "Separatist fools, listening to the former Imperials…" She muttered as she walked through the door. Han stood and made his way to her side, pulling her into the bedroom as he asked what was wrong. Sarah watched in interest, until Anakin trotted over to her, holding a datapad hopefully.

"Will you read me a story?" He asked.

Sarah cleared her throat. "Um… why don't you ask Winter?"

"She's busy." He replied. "Please? Threepio won't read me the Little Bantha anymore…"

Sarah swore inwardly. She couldn't decipher the characters; there was no way she could read him a story, but she couldn't refuse his puppy dog expression. _They already think I'm homeless… what does illiteracy matter? On the otherhand, I have too much pride to admit that I can't read, even if it is just in this dimension, and it could lead to uncomfortable questions…_

"Please?" He was pleading.

She took a deep breath and met his eyes. "I can't read, Anakin. I would if I could, but… I just can't read."

She had picked the wrong time to tell him; Leia and Han had just left their bed room. She blushed, looking down, all the while thinking to herself, _Why__ am I so embarrassed? If they knew the circumstances behind my presence they'd understand…_ Another part of her mind answered her. _It's because they _don't_ know. If they knew it would just be a matter of learning the alphabet, as it is they think I'm an illiterate homeless punk._

"Excuse me." She stood, leaving the family in the sitting room, closing the door behind her as she entered the guest room. It was just a matter of minutes before Leia knocked on the door.

"Sarah, may I come in?"

Sarah grimaced, sighing. "Sure."

The older woman sat on the bed beside Sarah. They sat in silence for a few moments before the dreaded question was asked. The past few moments had been spent trying to think up a proper cover story; Sarah thought she was prepared. "So, how long have you been homeless?"

Sarah cleared her throat, mouth working for a moment before she answered. "I'd rather not talk about it. I've moved around a lot…" It wasn't blatantly a lie.

"Sarah, we can help you. We _want_ to help you. You don't have any clothes, you can't read… what else have you missed out on?" Leia's sincere look made Sarah wince.

"It's fine, really… so I can't read the kid a bed time story, it's no big deal." Sarah averted her eyes, hoping Leia would get the hint and stop asking questions.

"Sarah, it _is_ a big deal. The amount of homeless people left by our war against the Empire… it's wrong. We've tried to improve things, but there are still people out there-" Leia was cut off as Sarah stood, pacing.

"Leia, it's fine. Really. I didn't mean to distress you; your job is already stressful enough without having to worry about one girl. I… I'd just rather not talk about it, alright?" Sarah was pleading, she knew it, but she didn't want to be caught out in a lie, and every one she told drew her closer to that possibility. She had to risk one more, to explain any lack of knowledge in the future. "Look… I grew up in the lower levels. I haven't run into much technology, and there isn't much need to read down there. So… I might not know how to drive a speeder or read a datapad, but I know how to survive, so can we just drop it?"

Leia regarded her seriously. "You weren't acting on survival instinct when you saved my life. What brought you to the platform yesterday?"

"I heard the ruckus from your speech, I wanted to see what was going on." Sarah replied.

"So you don't know how to operate, say, the food preserver?" Leia asked yet another question.

Sarah shook her head. "Nope. If you showed me, I could learn, but right now my knowledge is limited to what I saw Jacen do today and how I saw Winter open the cereal container this morning." Sarah liked where this was heading; it gave her an opportunity to be blatantly ignorant of a lot of facts in this new dimension.

What Sarah saw in Leia's eyes disgusted her; pity. "So if you move to an apartment when your arm is healed, it'll be like throwing you in the deep end with all the new technology, won't it?"

Sarah cleared her throat, trying for a grin and managing a wobbly grimace. "Pretty much."

Leia sighed and scrubbed her face. "I'll see what I can do. For the time being, you can stay with us as long as you like. If you'd like, I can have Threepio teach you how to read."

Sarah nodded, scarcely believing her luck. "That'd be great." The older woman stood to leave and Sarah called after her. "Leia… thanks."

Leia smiled. "Don't mention it. You should get some more rest; I know from experience how troublesome a blaster wound can be." Sarah nodded and dressed in the night clothes she had been leant; flopping softly onto the bed. She spent a long time staring at the ceiling before falling asleep.

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When Sarah awoke the next morning it was to a golden face looming over her. "Good morning Mistress Sarah. Mistress Leia asked me to tutor you in reading; are you ready to begin your lesson?"

Sarah blinked. "Um… no. What are you doing here?"

"Master Solo asked me to leave him and Chewbacca alone; he told me to 'bother you'." The golden droid was earnest in his answers.

"Chewbacca?" Sarah asked, confused. When she listened closely she heard a growling sound coming from outside the room.

She stood and dressed quickly, gesturing for Threepio to leave the room ahead of her. "Sarah!" Han was entirely too cheerful. "Meet Chewie!"

There was a seven foot walking carpet standing next to Han; Sarah turned a gaping mouth into a cough. "Hi, Chewie…" the creature roared a greeting, and Han continued speaking.

"Chewie was on a visit to see his family on Kashyykk (sp?). He got back early this morning." Han grinned, and the creature pulled the man into a tight hug, ruffling his hair. Sarah noticed the children running down the hallway; throwing themselves at the creature.

"Wookies." She thought she heard the droid mutter. _Wookies__… that's what they're called._

Sarah excused herself and followed the droid as he led her to the children's study. He pulled out a datapad, and gestured as a symbol appeared on the screen. "This is the letter A."

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Threepio insisted on breaks every forty five minutes; apparently he had learned of a study that said humans were only able to focus for that long before tuning out. As a result, going was slow; Sarah set about memorising the symbols, and managed to learn half the alphabet by lunch. Of course, reading the writing was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Sarah ate her lunch quietly, perusing the datapad Threepio had left out for her. She had almost finished her meal when Anakin poked his head through the door. "Mama said I have to apologize." He looked ashamed, and Sarah shook her head, puzzled.

"Whatever for?"

"Making you uncomfortable. Don't worry, I won't ask you to read me a story again." He shuffled his feet from side to side, not meeting her eyes.

_Trust a diplomat to make her son apologize for an honest mistake._ Sarah thought ruefully. "There's nothing to apologize for, Anakin. It was an honest mistake, you were going to find out sooner or later." _And you helped me with my mission a lot by doing it._

"Yeah, but mama said you were upset." His young face was concerned.

Sarah's eyes softened. "I'm alright Anakin; you didn't upset me. I was just a little concerned about how your parents would view me when they found out."

He plonked himself in a seat next to her. "I can't read and mama and papa still love me."

Sarah laughed. "That's because you're only five. It's different for someone my age."

"Why?" Sarah settled down to explain to the five year old the nuances of social acceptability.

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Dinner went much the same way as the night before; Leia returned to the set of rooms, a weary look on her face that was replaced with joy as Jaina showed her the latest creation and Jacen peppered her with facts about various animals. Anakin, who was getting attention from Han, made no bid for his mother's love. After dinner, which Sarah was informed was Nerf strips and a green salad, the young woman returned to the study, intent to pick up where she had left off.

That was where Leia found her, several hours later, asleep, her mouth open as the datapad hung loosely from her fingers. The Chief of State roused the girl, sending her to bed and promising her the datapad would be there the next morning. Sarah fell into her bed, much the same way as she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

When Sarah awoke the next morning, the first thing she did was pick up where she left off; she revised the datapad Threepio had given her. Testing herself on the characters, Sarah scowled when she realised she'd forgotten half of them.

The droid found her memorising the characters when he entered the children's study; he left her to her devices. Winter interrupted her studies in the middle of the day, a slightly mischievous look on her face as she called Sarah into the kitchen. "I take it you don't know how to cook?"

Sarah frowned, confused, and shook her head. "No… so?"

"So I'm going to show you."

Sarah grimaced. "Is anyone going to be eating the food I cook?"

Winter shrugged. "I was thinking you could cook lunch for the family. Don't worry, we'll start with something easy; nerf strips with a Corellian sauce?"

Sarah blinked. "If you think so… How about I watch, and try tomorrow?" She was hopeful, but the look Winter gave her told her the answer. "Fine… how do I start?"

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"So, what do you think?" Sarah eyed the faces sitting around the table nervously. Han made a weird choking sound and pushed the plate to the middle of the table.

"It's good… really… it's just that we had nerf yesterday, and you can't have too much of a good thing." His face betrayed the lie.

Sarah sighed and turned to Winter, who had managed three bites before setting the plate aside. "Of course, we still need to teach you how to order out."

Sarah groaned and picked at her plate, choosing a particularly big piece of nerf to try for herself. When the food hit her tongue she spat it back out, making a face at her plate as she pushed it aside. "And of course you still need to teach me where the food scraps go…"

Winter showed her where the food scraps went while Han ordered Ithorian from a delivery service over the comm. unit. When lunch arrived, Sarah poked at the bowl; something bobbed on the surface of a soup-like substance. She hazarded a glance at Han; he was eating happily, so were the children. Winter was watching Sarah with an amused expression. "I think the nerf was a safer choice…" She muttered, glancing at Anakin, who was slurping the liquid.

She took a hazardous sip of the liquid, and when she discovered it wouldn't kill her, she ate the rest quietly, mind wandering to Tortall and her friends. She avoided the bobbing ball of meat in the centre of the bowl, thinking, _It's__ full summer now… the Scanrans will be out in force, I hope nothing serious is happening._

When she had finished the liquid, Han pointed to the mystery meat. "Why didn't you eat your nek meat?"

Sarah blinked, pushing the bowl away in disgust. "You mean there's some poor child's pet in that soup?" Threepio had told her that nek dogs were sometimes used as pets, the thought of eating one had her appalled.

Winter gave Han an admonishing glare; the children giggled. "There's no nek meat in there, relax."

Sarah poked at it hesitantly. "So what is it, then?"

"Gornt." Winter replied, and Sarah shrugged, cutting a piece of the meat and taking a very small bite. It didn't taste too bad, so she ate the rest without complaint, pushing the empty bowl aside when she had finished.

After lunch, Sarah took a datapad from Anakin's pile of stories and began trying to read it. She felt like an idiot, sounding the words out as she had when she was five. As a result, she made certain to close the door of the study, frowning in concentration as the words began to make sense. _At least they speak the same language. _Sarah thought, not for the first time. She swivelled her shoulder experimentally, it still twinge in anger.

She sighed. While her cover might explain any and all idiocy on her part, it didn't allow much room for exercise, or much in the way of freedom when it came to meditation. _When I get back Wildcat is going to slaughter me. _She shook her head and returned to 'the Little Bantha', choosing to ignore the impending doom that faced her return to Tortall.

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The next day, when Leia came home from a meeting with Inner Council, she pulled Sarah aside quietly. "Tomorrow there's going to be a ceremony. They want to award you with a medal for your bravery and honour you for saving my life."

Sarah winced. The spot light was the last place she wanted to be. "It's really not necessary…"

"Everyone will be expecting you to come." Leia watched her face closely, Sarah was shaking her head again.

"I really don't want to get up on stage and accept a medal…" Sarah trailed off, not meeting Leia's eyes.

The older woman pulled her to the couch, sitting her down. "You don't have to do anything that will make you uncomfortable, but the public would like to see the hero that saved my life. It will help with morale, if it's shown that bravery can be found anywhere, even in the lower levels of Coruscant."

"I don't have anything to wear." It was a last ditch effort, one that had never worked before, but Sarah thought it was worth a try.

"That's why I've asked Winter to take you shopping." Sarah sighed at the response. The diplomat had thought of everything.

"Fine… I guess." Sarah couldn't see a way out of the situation other than to agree to her terms. "When will Winter and I be leaving?"

"As soon as you wish." Leia seemed pleased to have won the girl over.

"I don't have any money to pay for it, you know." The girl warned.

"It's on the New Republic. Don't worry, it won't hurt." Leia seemed amused, which only served to spoil Sarah's mood even further.

By the time Winter and Sarah had arrived at the shops Sarah was wringing her hands; her first trip in a speeder hadn't made her nervous; she had been in too much pain to pay attention. As it was she was wishing vehemently for a broom; at least she knew they wouldn't fall out of the sky, she had no experience with flying cars. Winter noticed as she got out of the speeder, asking, "Are you afraid of heights?"

Sarah shook her head. "Not especially… I just like something solid between me and a very long drop, not just a speeder."

The corner of the woman's mouth quirked into a half smile, she led the way to a small boutique, when they walked through the door a droid greeted them. "Good day, mistresses. How can I be of service to you?"

"We need a wardrobe for Sarah here." Winter gestured to Sarah, who shoved her hands into her pockets, uncomfortable with the situation. The droid pulled Sarah to a mirror, taking measurements as Sarah held her arms out. When the task was complete Sarah had a pile of clothes, the droid had turned to Winter, and was arranging payment._ Aren't going to try them on?_ She wondered, but didn't voice her query; Winter didn't appear to be concerned.

Before Sarah knew it she was being whisked back to the speeder, this time she made certain not to look outside the vehicle. Sarah was loaded with bags; when she made it to the front door of the Solos' quarters and heard a crash and a cry, she dropped the bags and burst through the door.

She saw Jaina on the floor, clutching her arm, a chair overturned next to an open food preserver, the door to the top section, where Winter kept her sweets. Sarah rushed over, even as she heard Jacen crying from the other room. Winter headed for the boys as Sarah dropped to a knee next to the young girl. "What happened?"

The girl had tears in her eyes, and she hiccupped as she explained, "I-I w-wanted a s-sweet from t-the food preserver."

Sarah pulled the girl's hand away from it's death grip on her arm, peering at the limb. "And why didn't you ask Threepio to get it for you?"

"H-he said no. Jacen and A-Anakin were distracting him while I got them…" Jaina bit her lip to stop herself from crying.

"Maybe next time you should heed Threepio, don't you think?" She tsked, rubbing the girl's back as she righted the chair and deposited the seven year old. "Move your fingers for me."

She wiggled her fingers, but started crying. "Shush, it's okay. You can move your fingers, so your arm isn't broken. I reckon it's just sprained, so let's get Winter to look it over, okay?"

The girl gave a brief nod before burying her face in Sarah's shoulder. Sarah hoisted the seven year old, carrying her into the other room, saying, "I think it's just a sprain; what's wrong with Jacen?"

Winter held the little boy as he cried, Anakin was frowning, but his eyes were free of tears. "His connection to his sister allowed him to feel her pain through the Force." Winter freed herself of Jacen's arms carefully and made her way over to girl, taking her from Sarah and examining the arm.

Jacen turned to Sarah for comfort, over his head she spoke to Threepio. "I left some bags at the door, can you get them for me?"

"By all means, Mistress Sarah." He toddled out the door, throwing one last look over his shoulder at the children.

Winter finished her examination, nodding to Sarah, "It's just a sprain. I'll take her to the doctors, will you be alright here?"

Sarah nodded, and Jacen scrambled to Winter's side. "Can I come too?" The woman nodded, and left the room with the children as Threepio bustled over, the bags in his arms. Anakin had decided to stay with them; Sarah occupied herself by playing a game Anakin called Dejarik; Sarah was content making random movements as his pieces ate her own.

When Winter returned, Jaina's arm was held firm with what looked like a compression bandage, and she looked miserable. Han and Chewie trailed the group; Sarah assumed they had met them at the doctors. "And that goes for you too, young man." He pointed a firm finger at Anakin. "No sweets for a week; and next time Threepio says no, it means no."

"Aw, but dad!" Anakin left the game to beg his father while Jaina sat at the table, fiddling with the cast, she looked as though she had been crying as Jacen joined her. Sarah watched from her seat, until Leia walked through the door, looking positively harassed as she spoke on a comm. unit.

"No, not right now. I told you, I left so I could be with my daughter; she hurt herself today, and I don't care what claims the former Imperials make about my commitment." She shut the comm. unit off before walking over to her daughter, placing her arms around her.

Sarah felt a pang, and walked into the guest room quietly, leaving the family to their moment as she wished for her friends. _Oh stop it! _She chastised herself, _It's not as though you haven't been on a longer mission before; the last one took ten months!_ Sarah stared at the ceiling for a while, thinking about her mission. _How am I supposed to protect these children when they have those little Noghri guards and a Jedi Master to protect them? How will I do any better?_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in." She answered, but didn't move from her position on the bed. She glanced at the door, "Leia, how was your meeting?"

"The usual, until I got the call from Winter saying Jaina was hurt and they were on the way to the doctors. The former Imperial senators had the audacity to accuse me of a lack of commitment when I tried to leave. Winter told me you handled the situation quite well."

"It was nothing, just a little sprain. How's she doing? Han really ripped into her about not listening to Threepio, didn't he?" Sarah asked, sitting up to make room for leader.

"Yes. She needs to learn that when an adult or someone supervising says no, it means no. She's developed a rebellious streak lately, so like her father." Leia shook her head ruefully. "How was shopping today, anyway?"

Sarah shrugged. "Alright, I guess. I'm not fully sure what we bought; I just know a droid took my measurements and piled me high with clothes."

Leia looked amused and picked through the bags, picking out a few items, and finally choosing a dress. "Try it on, let's see how it looks."

Sarah sighed; she walked into the refresher and quickly changed. When she was finished she took a quick look in the mirror, making sure it was on correctly. The dress was knee length with long sleeves. She made a face at the style, longing for the flowing breeches she wore to formal functions in Tortall, and sighed, pulling her hair back briefly, examining her appearance.

She was _about_ to show Leia, but she stopped herself suddenly, tugging on the dress to make it crooked, and opened the door. Her appearance garnered the desired effect; Leia pursed her lips and fixed the dress before nodding firmly. "That looks good. You should wear it tomorrow."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "If you insist."

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Sarah tugged at her sleeve, eyeing the crowd nervously. On stage, in front of thousands of people with the equivalent of at least a dozen video cameras pointed at either her or Leia, who was making a speech at the pedestal, was the absolute last place she wanted to be. She saw her face on several large vid screens, and tried to muster a smile. She listened to Leia as she continued.

"Due to the bravery and quick thinking of one woman, my life was saved that day. This woman leapt from the crowd after seeing the man and pushed me aside, taking the blaster bolt that was meant for my heart, and for that reason we are here to honour her this day. General Cracken, would you do the honours?"

A man with red hair and grey streaks stepped to the podium, clearing his throat. "For bravery in the face of personal injury and possible death, the Order of the Alliance is awarded to Sarah Gibson."

Sarah stepped forward and bowed her head to Leia, who placed a medallion around her neck. The one thought that buzzed through her mind was, _Get it over with, get it over with, I'll be caught out if I draw too much attention to myself._

Leia looked her over, a mischievous gleam to her eye. "Do you want to make a speech?"

Sarah glared venomously at her. "Not likely." She muttered, but kept a smile on her face.

The ceremony was wrapped up shortly after, and Sarah was led to a banquet hall, where she was sat between Leia and a man Leia introduced as General Wedge Antilles. Han sat next to Leia, Chewie and Winter on his other side, on the arm of a pilot Sarah had been briefly introduced to as Colonel Tycho Celchu. The children were arrayed across from them, and Sarah sat up straight, nervous as different people stopped by on their way to their seats, to greet Leia or meet Sarah.

The General took pity on her and struck up a conversation. "So, Sarah, how do you like living with the Solos? Not what you'd expect, is it?"

Sarah grinned sheepishly. "To tell you the truth, General, I don't know what I expected." _Although knowing King Jonathon and Queen Thayet for a while certainly has changed my view of a stereotypical leader figure._

"Please, please, Wedge will do fine. How's the shoulder?" He seemed nice enough, so Sarah continued the conversation.

"Almost healed now, just a little stiff." She replied. "So, what do you do?"

He smirked. "You know, Han said that you weren't fluent in current events… I'm the head of Starfighter Command."

Sarah felt suitably ashamed, and she knew it showed on her cheeks. The General jumped as though kicked, and a face appeared from around his shoulder. "Ignore him; it's good for him to meet someone that doesn't know who he is, it'll deflate his ego a bit." The woman had brown, wavy hair with honey streaks, she extended a hand past Wedge to Sarah. "My name's Iella Wessiri."

"Sarah Gibson." She shook the offered hand, and the conversation continued throughout the dinner.

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Wedge was laughing. "I can't believe Han hasn't taken you up in the _Falcon_ yet. It's his pride and joy; I'd imagine that would be the first thing he did." Sarah shrugged, but couldn't think of a response, so she waited until he spoke again. "You should come down to the base some time; I'll take you through the paces in a simulator, you can get a taste of flying yourself."

Sarah grinned, nodding. "I'd like that. Until next time, Wedge, Iella."

She turned off and followed the Solos as they headed towards a speeder. She averted her eyes as the pilot, Tycho Celchu, said goodbye to Winter in his own way, and hopped into the speeder in between Jaina and Jacen, where she had no clear view of the long drop. The speeder was what Sarah assumed was the equivalent of a stretch limo, the rest of the party filed in shortly after her, and she noticed one of the Noghri piloting.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Leia was asking, and Sarah frowned piteously.

"No. Just all the people staring at me, pointing and whispering… not hard at all." She said, comfortable enough to be sarcastic with the family now. "But," She continued. "I do have a shiny medallion now."

Leia was smiling. "I see you and Wedge and Iella hit it off pretty well."

_The fact that he didn't expect me to bow and scrape because he's a General helped._ Sarah thought before answering. "Yeah, they seemed pretty nice. He said he'll show me how to pilot X-Wings if I pop around to the base. He also asked me to ask you, Han, why you haven't taken me up in the _Falcon_ yet." She grinned, and he shrugged.

"Well, when Winter said you were nervous about heights…" He trailed off.

Sarah frowned. "But space is different… If you go fast enough and far enough you _can't_ fall back to the planet."

He shrugged again. "Alright, if you want I can take you up tomorrow."

Sarah shrugged too, "It doesn't bother me either which way, I was just passing on a message."

He folded his arms over his chest. "Fine. Let's visit Luke on Yavin Four."

The twins and Anakin agreed eagerly, but Leia took some convincing. It took the reminder that she had no meetings for days to come to get her to consider it, and the hint that Luke was always visiting her, not the other way around, the guilt her into it.

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The next day Sarah hefted her pack; it had her clothes for the trip in it. She stood at the boarding ramp of a ship she _knew_ had to be the _Falcon_ from Wedge's description of it; it was a bucket of bolts held together with silver space tape and Han's boot straps.

The children skipped up the ramp, excited about the change in scenery as Jaina peppered Han with questions about the operation of the _Falcon_. Sarah shook her head and continued up the ramp, leaving her bag with the rest of the family's bags.

Winter had decided to stay on Coruscant, leaving Sarah to brave space flight without her mentor in all things technological. As a result, Sarah was _very _nervous; she had never been into outer space before, and she was about to travel further than anyone from her dimension ever had- to her knowledge.

When Han had the kids and Threepio settled in the main hold he invited Sarah to sit in the cockpit, behind Chewbacca with Leia beside her. Sarah felt her breath catch in her throat as Han lifted off; despite the appearance of the ship, the lift off was a lot smoother than she had expected. She watched as the silvery sky fell away, melting into the blackness of space, dotted with a thousand stars; she was gaping, but she didn't care. She didn't notice the look of light amusement on Leia's face, and when Han turned the ship around so Sarah could get a better look a small gasp escaped her throat. "Oh, glory…"

There was the planet, a shining oasis of technology, criss-crossed with the signs of buildings and infrastructure. As she watched, the tall towers sparkled in the sunlight, like diamonds. There were other ships heading to and from the planet; Sarah saw more designs than she thought could possibly exist.

"Seen enough kid?" Han asked, tossing a look back over his shoulder.

"I'm not sure I'll ever see enough… but go ahead." Was the reply.

He swung the ship back around, pointing it at the emptiness of space and arrowing away from the planet. When he was a fair distance away he smirked. "If you thought Coruscant was impressive, wait until you see hyperspace."

He wasn't mistaken; when he pulled the lever and the stars stretched from points to a swirling vortex of motley light, it took her breath away. She sat watching the view ports long after the others had left the cockpit, thinking to herself, _The__ places my job takes me…_


	5. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

As they left hyperspace Sarah watched with awe; the motley white view was replaced once again with the black of space, marred only by the stars and an orange gas giant known as Yavin. As they drew closer Sarah could make out a chain of much smaller round planetoids; Sarah assumed that they were moons. As they approached a green moon Han turned back to Sarah. "I bet you've never seen so many trees before."

Sarah remembered her cover story in time to answer, "I'd never seen any trees before staying with you guys."

As they drew closer and Han approached the atmosphere Sarah got a good look at the trees. They were truly the tallest she had ever seen; taller even than those in the Royal Forest that bordered the palace in Corus. Han took the entry slowly; he said it was to appreciate the view, Sarah thought perhaps it was to not scare her.

As they drew to a soft landing Sarah unbuckled her crash webbing, anxious to get outside to the most natural environment she had encountered since her appearance on Coruscant. She picked up her bag on the way outside, grinning lightly at the children as they picked up their own bags. The young woman trotted down the boarding ramp, slowly as she reached the grass. She had to fight the urge not to take her boots off then and there, instead alternating between staring at the trees, the grass and the giant temple that stood before her.

While her awe was simulated- mostly- she was genuinely impressed with the size and apparent age of the temple, and she took deep, long breaths of what was the freshest air she'd had in a while. A figure strode out to meet them; she smiled when she noticed it was Luke Skywalker.

He returned the smile, greeting her as Leia and Han strode down the boarding ramp, followed by Chewie and the children. Threepio brought up the rear. "Sarah, how are you?"

"Doing much better, Master Skywalker. How are you?" She asked.

"Very well, thankyou, but please, call me Luke. Only my students call me Master." He turned to greet his sister and brother-in-law, hoisting Anakin on his hip when the youngest child ran to greet him.

Sarah watched the greeting with a half smile, deciding then and there that he wasn't the one she was supposed to protect them from. When the greetings were over Luke led them inside; Sarah was genuinely forlorn at leaving the outdoors so soon after returning to it.

She followed them inside with a sigh, looking around the corridors with interest. Partway into the building and a droid Threepio referred to as Artoo met up with them, communicating in whistles and beeps, to which Threepio replied in Basic.

"So, Sarah, how was the trip?" Luke asked.

"Absolutely fascinating. I've never been off planet before; let alone in hyperspace." She replied with a grin, he was prevented from responding by a young adolescent heading towards them. When the boy noticed Leia and her family, and the Wookie he turned the other way, fleeing from the group.

Luke sighed. "Vrax is very, very shy. He was driven from his home because his connection to the Force became such that he made 'things happen' without his consent. He can't stand to be around more than a few people at a time, and even then he finds the situation stressful. Leia, will you be alright finding your own way to your rooms? I have to find out what he wants; he only ever seeks me out when he is desperate, even I pose a fright for him."

"Sure, Luke. Go ahead, we'll be fine." She replied, shooing him as she led the family and Sarah to a set of rooms several corridors away and up a flight of stairs. When Sarah noticed her own room set up next to Han and Leia's she smiled, walking in and setting her bag down on the floor as she sat on the bed.

Bouncing up and down experimentally, she noticed it was a reasonably firm pallet; just the kind she liked, and grinned, stretching out, folding her arms behind her head.

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Due to the 'jetlag' they had experienced from the journey, Sarah, the Solos and Chewie had gone to bed early, resulting in Sarah waking before dawn. She found her way to the roof; when Yavin rose it was a sight to remember. The orange gas giant sent light reflected from the system's star; that light reflected again through something in the atmosphere to send rainbows of colour to anyone up early enough to watch.

A voice sounded behind her, startling her from her reverie. "There was a time when the students would all get up at dawn to watch Yavin rise and see the corusca gems flashing in its light; now they all prefer to sleep in."

She turned briefly to Luke, "Good morning. I can't imagine why they would want to miss this… It's a truly amazing sight."

He wasn't watching the light show in the sky, however. He was watching Sarah closely as he spoke again. "Tell me again how it was you knew to push Leia out of the way of the sniper's shot."

Sarah frowned as she answered. "Well, I was watching the speech, and when I turned to leave I looked up and saw him there, with his rifle pointed at Leia. I just acted on instinct…"

Luke moved to stand next to her. "What made you look up?"

Sarah thought _you don't want to know the answer to that question_, but instead she answered, "I don't know… I guess I just had an urge to look up, and there he was."

"You see, I've been thinking a great deal about that day, and I believe it was the Force that guided your actions." Sarah looked at him sharply as he continued. "If you would allow it, I'd like to test your potential."

"What would that involve?" She asked, immediately on guard.

"Well, I would probe you with the Force to determine how strong in the Force you are-" His answer was cut off by her shaking her head vehemently.

"No. Thanks, but no." She knew her refusal would arouse suspicion, just as well as she knew that if she let him probe her with the Force it would blow her cover completely.

"I wouldn't do it without your permission, Sarah, but there's no way of knowing how much potential you have otherwise-" Again, she cut him off.

"Then perhaps it's better to let sleeping battle dogs lie." She said firmly, turning away from his watchful gaze.

"Is there a reason you don't want to learn of your potential?" His voice was filled with light curiosity.

"The past is the past and I'd rather not dredge it up with someone walking around upstairs." She tapped her head with a finger, even as he replied.

"I would never invade your privacy, Sarah, I just want to determine your Force potential." It was a last ditch effort, she knew, and she shook her head once more.

"Thanks, but no thanks." She repeated, thinking to herself, _Who__ knows how much he could tell about me if he gets a glimpse. I don't even know if he could recognize my Gift, or the fact that I've lied to them about everything so far._

"It's entirely your choice, Sarah. I just thought I might offer you the option."

"Yes, it is my choice." She didn't face him as she stalked stiffly down the stairs and back to her own room, barely bothering to hide her relief that he didn't follow her. On the way her mind raced.

_Alright, so he thinks I'm a total nutcase now. At least they don't know I'm from another dimension._ She waved at one of the students she'd been introduced to yesterday as she wove through the corridors. _On the other hand, am I really going to be able to keep that from them forever?_

She trotted down another set of stairs. _Hopefully I can protect the kids from whatever I'm supposed to protect them from and just disappear… but I don't want to do that. I enjoy spending time with the Solos. I want the same option here when I leave as I had with Tortall and Hogwarts._

She had made it to the corridor where their rooms were. _But when I tell them I've been lying to them about every single thing in my life they won't want me around. As it is who knows what Luke's going to tell them. If they find out that I flipped when he suggested it, they might be suspicious anyway._ She sighed as she entered her room, closing the door behind her. _What a mess I've gotten myself into._

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Sarah avoided breakfast, which gave Luke the perfect opportunity to speak with Chewie, Leia and Han. When they were settled with their plates in front of them, he began. "Leia… there's something more to Sarah than meets the eye."

Leia looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I suggested the Force may have prompted her to save you, and when I asked to test her she was… vehemently against it." He raised his eyebrows to emphasize his point.

Han was shrugging. "Maybe she just doesn't want someone walking around in her head."

Luke sighed. "That's what she said. I think she's hiding something. She said she didn't want to 'dredge up the past'. She's afraid of us finding out something about her."

Chewie growled, and Han put his fork down, giving Luke a stern look. "And what's the problem? Everyone has secrets, why do you think a street kid wouldn't?"

Leia pursed her lips. "If she is hiding something…" She didn't finish the statement, trailing off in thought.

Han was growing more annoyed. "Look, I'll bet she's hiding something. She's been on the streets for her entire life; things are bound to have happened that she doesn't want to talk about or any of us to know about. You two don't know what it's like living on the streets, never knowing where your next meal's coming from…"

Luke was watching with interest. "Why the sudden protectiveness, Han?"

"Like you know, when I was a kid I lived on the streets until I was picked up by a man who trained me in pickpocketing and other _useful_ skills. I don't know how old I was when that happened, but I was a lot younger than Sarah is. I don't have any idea what it was like for her for all this time, but it can't have been pleasant." He sighed as he continued. "The first morning she was with us, when I went to wake her for breakfast, she was having a nightmare. In the last week and a bit that she's stayed with us, I've heard her muttering and groaning in her sleep, and almost every night I check on her she's having a bad dream. Whatever happened to her, I don't think she wants to talk about it, and we shouldn't press her."

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Sarah was pacing in her room, trying to think of a suitable cover story while worrying about what Luke had told Leia and Han. She wanted nothing more than to go for a nice, long run in the jungle to ease the tension, but that didn't suit her cover. _How would they react if I told them the truth?_ She thought._ Well, first they'd want to send me to the loony bin… and then, if I showed them, I imagine they'd spirit the kids away as quickly as possible, and _that_ wouldn't suit my mission at all._

She sighed as she plonked herself down on the bed, head in her hands. _This is too complicated… what made me think I could do the whole 'secret agent' rubbish anyway? I was found out on the first _day_ last time._

Sarah groaned as she flung herself back onto the bed. _I should have told them the truth from the start. Well, I've made this bed, I guess I'm going to have to lie in it._

There was a knock on the door, and Sarah sighed before calling, "Come in."

There was Leia, just as Sarah had expected, poking her head through the door. "Sarah." She started as she closed the door behind her. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Nope." The abrupt response took her aback, but Leia continued.

"Luke said you were upset about something this morning." She tried again.

"I wasn't upset." Sarah was keeping her answers as short as possible.

"You missed breakfast."

"I wasn't hungry." Sarah kept her face stony, although she hated having to act this way to someone who had only shown her kindness.

Leia sat down on the bed, Sarah turned away from her. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I'm fine, everyone's fine." Sarah was getting frustrated.

"You can trust Luke, you know. He wouldn't invade your privacy, he just wants to help you."

"I don't want help. I don't need help." Sarah gritted her teeth, wondering what the hell she was doing, when Leia's continued kindness was the only thing keeping her near the children. "Look, I'm sorry, but I don't want to talk about my past. I don't want to dig it back up, and I don't want to be a Jedi." _I'm already too many things for the heralds to remember, anyway._

"Sarah…" She could hear the note of sadness in Leia's voice. "Han told me you've been having nightmares."

Sarah barked a laugh, shooting out a quick, "What's new?" Before shutting her mouth. They had become less frequent since the occurrence, but her fight with the Sorrows had left her with nightmares that still found her gasping awake. It had seemed that they had returned with the new surroundings.

"Sarah… What happened? It won't leave this room, I swear." Leia's voice was full of sincerity, causing Sarah to meet her eyes.

Her jaw worked as she coughed lightly. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"You need to talk about it sometime; the events of the past only have control over you when you allow them to. If you talk about them, work your way through them, their power will cease to exist."

Leia's argument was pretty convincing, and Sarah's jaw worked as she tried to think of an answer. She settled for sitting up and sighing. "A few years ago I was attacked. That's what left most of my scars… I don't like to talk about it, so can we please just drop it?"

Leia looked appalled, and a determined look settled on her face. "Let me see."

Sarah frowned. "See what?"

"The scars." Sarah sighed as she heard the reply and rolled up her sleeves, showing the scratches Slaughter had left her, the ones that criss-crossed on her arms when she had held them up to defend herself. When Leia had seen them, she rolled up her shirt, revealing her stomach and a multitude of white lines.

"There are more like that down by legs, and the one on my face is from the same attack. So now that you know, can we please just drop it?" Sarah tried once more.

"Sarah… there are procedures that can be done to remove these scars." Leia's voice was held with barely controlled rage.

She frowned when she heard this and shook her head. "No… they're a lesson to never let my guard down. Are we dropping this or not?"

The woman sighed and patted Sarah's knee. "If you ever need to talk about it…"

_I'll have Hermione, and Alanna, and Wildcat, and Thayet and a bunch of other people to talk about it to. People I don't have to lie to._ She thought as she sighed. "You'll be the first."

Leia stood, nodding as she headed to the door. "I'll leave you alone now. Just a warning, Luke might stop around a little later to show you a lesson, he can be very persistent sometimes."

Sarah groaned as she flopped back down onto the bed.

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True to her word, Luke _did_ pop around to show her to a lesson. And it was a lesson on self defence. She gritted her teeth and smiled politely as one of his first students took her and a group of people both older and younger than her through their paces. Sarah deliberately threw bad punch after bad punch after bad kick, barely restraining herself as the man- Kam Solusar, she reminded herself- corrected her stance and technique.

When the lesson was complete she turned to Chewie, Han and Leia, who had turned up to watch, and shrugged with a goofy grin. "Not bad for my first try."

Han's mouth quirked, but he tried to keep a straight face. "Not bad, no…" She heard him mutter, and thought she made out a, "Not bad, but terrible." On the end.

Leia elbowed him, proving her suspicions and Sarah wiped her face on a towel. "So, what now? Where are the kids?"

"Tionne is telling them a story." Leia said, and Sarah nodded. Tionne had been introduced to her the day before, the silver haired Jedi had seemed very fond of the children. "As for what now, perhaps an early lunch? You missed breakfast."

Sarah nodded. "Sure, sounds good." She was determined to act as cheery as possible to offset the way she had spoken to Leia earlier that day.

Luke was watching her carefully, now he strode over with his hand held out. "Sorry about before." She nodded and went to shake his hand; as he gripped it he threw her over his hip. Sarah heard cries of outrage from Leia and Han, and a roar from Chewie, even as instinct kicked in and she flipped through the air, skidding to a stop on her feet.

Their eyes widened and Sarah knew they mirrored her expression. In instinct she had perhaps blown her entire cover, and her mouth hung open as she searched for words. "Excuse me." She managed as she turned to flee, trotting down the stairs on the outside of the temple and making her way to the ground below.

She gritted her teeth as an urge to punch the wall nearly took over. She settled for clenching her fists and pacing hurriedly backward and forward. _Alright, I've got to play my cards right. If I don't, I'll fail in my mission to protect those kids, because I won't be allowed within a dozen parsecs of them._ She heard steps approaching from the outside stair case and hazarded a glance upwards.

Han Solo was trotting down to meet her, a troubled look on his face. When he stood before her he spoke. "Look, kid, ignore Luke. I don't know what he was trying to prove when he did that, but he was completely outta line. Nice landing, by the way."

"It was a fluke, it doesn't mean I have Force potential." Sarah gritted her teeth and turned her back to him.

"Why are you scared of it?" He asked. She almost laughed, but turned it into a cough.

"I'm not afraid of it. I just don't want to be a Jedi." Sarah said, ignoring the lies as she made them.

"Alright, no one's going to force you, but it is an option, you know. You have a chance her to turn your life around. Just think about it a bit, alright?"

Sarah sighed, thinking _As if I need to make anything more of my life. I'm the Messenger for the Gods, whoop di do. _Instead of saying any of that she turned to Han. "I'll give it some thought, alright?"

He grinned his trademark grin, slapping her on the shoulder. "That's all I could ask for. Don't worry about Luke, Leia's giving him the whatfor at the moment. He won't bother you about it again."

Sarah nodded, relieved that perhaps she would be left alone. "Good." He led her inside, where a contrite Jedi Master awaited.

"Sarah, I'm sorry. I just wanted to show you your potential, if you harnessed the instincts that allowed you to land like that-" he cut off as Leia elbowed him.

Sarah looked down, her hands in her pockets. "It's alright, I just need a bit of time to think things over, okay? And I'm sorry I ran off, it just shocked me a bit…"

Leia nodded firmly, satisfied as she brushed her hands on her pants. "Alright, now that's settled, let's do something about lunch."


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

Sarah was counting down the days until her and the Solos returned to Coruscant. As fascinating as the Jedi Academy was, she wanted nothing more than to get away from Luke and his prying eyes. She cut all conversations with the Jedi Master to the bare minimum, and whenever she was left alone in his presence she found a reason to leave.

She found herself watching the gas giant rising again, from atop the Great Temple the next morning, when a walking pile of fur growled a soft greeting. She turned slightly, grinning at the Wookie as she said, "Hey Chewie; you're up early."

He wuffed something, and she shook her head. "You know I don't understand Wookie."

He shrugged and sat next to her, his lanky legs dangling over the edge. "It's beautiful, isn't it." It wasn't a question, but Chewie replied.

"Hrn…"

Sarah grinned. "Now I know that means yes."

He chuffed and mussed up her hair. "No! That's only funny when you do it to Han, it's not funny when you do it to a girl, our hair's too long!"

She whipped out her hair tie, frowning as she tried to smooth out the mess on the top of her head. "Now I have to comb it again…" She grumbled, glaring half heartedly at the Wookie, who was laughing softly.

Han walked up the stairs with a glum face. "Leia just received a message from Mon Mothma. Turns out Kelstew Prime is seriously considering seceding from the New Republic. It's getting desperate, and they need her to cool things down. Which means I have to leave today for the Kelstew system, and the rest of the family has a choice. I'm not leaving her there by herself, and the twins and Anakin said they want to come too, but you can both stay here if you want."

_Yes!_ Sarah thought, triumphant. Chewie roared, and Han shrugged. "You know how boring these things can get; I didn't want to speak for you."

"I think I'd rather come with you…" She trailed off, and Han gave a rueful smile.

"I had a feeling you would. We'll be leaving this morning; you should get your things together." Han sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Leia really needs an uninterrupted holiday one of these days."

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Sarah buckled her crash webbing, trying to keep a smile off her face as Han took off, leaving Luke waving goodbye on the landing platform. As they cleared the atmosphere Sarah took a good, long look at the gas giant before they angled for deep space, and Han pulled the hyperspace lever. They were on their way to Kelstew Prime.

Sarah sighed, watching the motley view as Leia left to check on the children. "Hey, kid."

"My name's Sarah." She muttered grumpily.

"How about I show you the controls." He sounded almost reasonable, but from his talk about his 'precious _Falcon_', Sarah knew the offer didn't come every day.

"You're kidding." When he shook his head, she grinned widely. "Sure!" She reached out to touch one of the controls, Chewie batted her hand away.

"You don't actually get to touch them." Han said, and Sarah frowned lightly, before shrugging and grinning. "I said I was going to _show_ you the controls. Now, these-" He pointed to a lever. "They control the forward deflectors. All the way down means they aren't on at all, all the way up is full power to deflectors. You can choose just how strong they are by adjusting the lever."

Sarah paid attention to everything he was telling her, especially the information on how to steer and control the motion. When he was finished the rudiments Sarah grinned brightly. "So when do I get to pilot the ship?"

Chewie chuffed loudly, Han shook his head. "Um… how's never for you?"

"Aw, come on!" He stood and entered the entertainment area, and Sarah followed, bugging him repeatedly; he refused, on the basis that it took Leia years to earn the trust to be able to pilot his ship, and he had known Sarah for little under a fortnight.

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Sarah stepped down the boarding ramp, eyeing the sky with distaste. It was the dull grey of too much pollution, and the world was covered with short, stumpy buildings and factories, interrupted by brief patches of listless grass and drooping trees. Turning halfway to Han she muttered, "Remind me again why the Republic cares whether this planet secedes?"

He replied in a low voice. "Because they're the largest refiner of Tibanna gas in the Republic; it all gets shipped here from Bespin to be made suitable for blasters and laser cannons."

"Oh." Sarah hefted her bag and continued down the ramp, but she couldn't wipe a slight grimace off her face. A man greeted the family as they walked down the ramp, he seemed taken aback by Sarah's presence.

"Your Excellency, we were not informed you were travelling with anyone other than your family, your protocol droid and a Wookie… we have not arranged quarters large enough for your guest…"

Sarah blinked. "It's no issue; I'll sleep on the floor in the kids' room."

"I did not mean that as an option; I was merely suggesting we required more time to prepare suitable quarters." The man seemed sincere, but Leia's eyes were narrowing.

Sarah shrugged. "It's fine, really. The floor can be… comfortable. I'm sure you're entirely too busy as it is to worry about the sleeping arrangements of one girl, it's no issue at all."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes." Sarah finished firmly, leaving no room for argument.

The man turned without another word, leading them to their quarters. Sarah could see Leia's growing annoyance with each step they took. When they were deposited in their rooms, and the door was closed, Leia voiced her problems. "It was a deliberate slight against the New Republic."

Sarah screwed up her face. "Huh? So they forgot a bed, why does it matter?"

"It's a sign that these negotiations will be very… bumpy, to begin with." Han explained with pride; it was rare that he could explain the nuances of diplomacy to someone else.

"How did you- how do you know it wasn't just a simple mistake?"

"It wasn't." Leia said firmly. "I've been doing this for long enough to know the difference between a mistake and a deliberate slight. The people of Kelstew Prime have a strict moral code; a life is considered to be the highest thing of value. If someone saves a life they are considered to be of incredible honour and valour. You saved my life, so them not paying attention to you and your presence with my family is like saying that my life isn't important, and vicariously that the New Republic is of no consequence."

Sarah frowned. "You're reading rather deeply into what could have been an honest mistake…" _Then again, all they need to do is ask King Jon to know that my skills in diplomacy are sorely… lacking._

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Leia walked through the door, scrubbing her face tiredly. She was back from a ten hour long meeting with the diplomats of Kelstew Prime, trying to convince them to stay in the Republic. From Sarah's point of view, her perch on the couch, she didn't think it was going well. What Leia said next confirmed it. "Argh! The pigheadedness! They refuse to listen to reason, and their demands are completely unreasonable!"

"Bad day?" Han asked, sympathetic. Leia gave him a look that could melt durasteel and headed for the tapcaf synthesiser.

"Bad day." Sarah confirmed, returning her gaze to the middling level novel she was reading on a datapad. She struggled through the words, all her pity used up on her injured pride as she occasionally sounded words out loud. The thing that made reading Basic so difficult was the phonetic sounds like 'sh' and 'th' being replaced with a separate character entirely, not to mention some of the spelling was completely irrational in comparison to the English spelling of the words. All in all, Sarah was getting very frustrated.

Leia flopped into the seat next to her, reading over her shoulder for a brief moment before making a face. "Threepio couldn't have picked a more interesting text, could he?"

"I'm sorry, Mistress Leia, but 'The Fall of the Empire' is part of the standard curriculum, and as such I thought it was appropriate." The golden droid seemed offended that his choice was under fire.

"I'm not reading it for interest, I'm just trying to get a grasp of the words. It could be a manual for farming Banthas and I wouldn't care." Sarah said absentmindedly skimming the sentence before solidifying the meaning in her mind.

Leia snatched the datapad from her hands. "I'll find you something more interesting. Threepio, why don't you take Sarah and the children to the menagerie tomorrow? I'm told it's quite impressive; a replica of what the planet once looked like, apparently."

"Can we Threepio?" Jacen begged. "Please?"

"Mistress Leia suggested it, so I can find no problem with the idea." The golden droid answered, and the rest of the evening was spent barely tolerating a hyperactive seven year old boy as Sarah once again attempted to struggle through 'The Fall of the Empire'.

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Sarah peered through the bars of the cage, squinting at the ugly creature with a grimace. "Kawokian Spider Monkeys are a lot cuter in pictures." They were in a large dome; lamps hanging from the ceiling provided natural-feeling light and the grass in the cages showed just how far the world had fallen from its glory days.

"Terrible creatures they are." Threepio sounded miffed. "I once had an eye removed by one, it was on Tatooine, in Jabba the Hutt's palace. It was shortly after Masters Skywalker, Solo and Chewbacca were sentenced to death by Sarlacc, and …"

Sarah tuned the droid out as she turned from the monkeys, heading towards the exhibit where small, feathered creatures that waddled around the bottom of the cage. Before she could read the name of the creature on the holoplaque she heard a loud explosion. Sarah lunged forward, grabbing Jaina and Jacen, shoving them behind her before reaching for Anakin.

Her eyes searched for the source of the explosion, finding it in a large hole in the side of the dome where men dressed in black jumpsuits and helmets and brandishing blasters that looked decidedly unfriendly were pouring through. They headed towards her, Sarah dropped into a fighting crouch instinctively, prepared to defend the children if necessary.

Unfortunately for the young Knight, Shang-in-training and Mage Adept, these men had blasters, which were set to stun, and they cut loose in her direction. She dropped with a crash as all control left her body; she could still see and hear, but that was the extent of her bodily functions. Out of the corner of an eye she saw Threepio tumble, crying out "Oh my! Somebody call the security force, we are being attacked!"

She heard the children crying out, and would have gritted her teeth if she could move; as it was she heard the whine of a blaster carbine again; out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a flash of blue, and heard several thumps. _Gods, if those blasters were set to kill…_

"Make sure they're alright." The voice was slightly muffled by the helmet he was wearing, but Sarah thought perhaps he was the commander of the task force.

She felt a hand at her throat, checking her pulse, even as she heard a voice call, "They're stable."

_Thank the gods…_ she thought, until she heard the voice of the man checking on her. "What will we do with this one?"

"Don't you watch the news feed? She's the one that jumped in front of Organa Solo; we'll bring her, she might be able to convince her to help us handle the kids." The first voice answered.

"Why would she help us?" The one at Sarah's side asked.

"She's homeless; we'll offer her riches and glory and she'll jump at the chance." At this the man scooped Sarah up in his arms, proceeding to carry her towards the hole they had blown in the dome; what awaited her she didn't know.

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Sarah groaned, bringing her hands to her head. She squinted as she opened her eyes, seeing something gold restraining her hands; she coughed lightly before rolling over, trying to force herself into a sitting position and only managing a slumped lean instead.

She looked around, noticing Jaina, Jacen and Anakin lying peacefully beside her, she checked their pulse and blew out a sigh of relief as she noticed they were unconscious, not dead. She racked her brains, trying to remember what had happened, how she had blacked out.

_Alright, so they attacked and stunned me and the kids, and carried us through the hole in the dome. Then they… carried us onto a speeder, I think, and drove us to a space ship, where they dumped us in the hold, I think it was the hold…_ Sarah shook her head to clear the muzziness. _And after a while a man came in and stunned us all again… I guess they didn't want us waking up too soon. That's when I blacked out…_

A door on the other side of the cell opened; Sarah scrambled backwards as two black suited men marched in, blasters pointed at her. One of them dragged her roughly to her feet, and together they frog marched her out of the room, down a hall, and into another room before dumping her unceremoniously in a chair in front of a desk. A glass of water was set in front of her; a man in the same black jumpsuit but without a helmet walked to her side, passing a small chip over her binders, which immediately loosened. She watched him closely as he removed the contraptions, placing them on the desk as he sat around on the other side.

He had a muscular build, a strong chin and a slightly crooked nose. His hair was short cropped and blonde-white, and his eyes were a sharp blue. He had an ugly white scar running from his temple, over his eye and down his face, which ruined any good looks he might have had.

"My name is Commander Trinax." He introduced himself. "I hope the effects of the stun have worn off?" Sarah recognized his voice as the commander of the strike force, the one who had suggested they use her against the children.

"Yes." Sarah mustered an icy look.

"That is good. Please, you must be thirsty." He gestured to the water.

Sarah just stared. "I'm fine."

He shrugged, and continued to speak. "You know, you and I, we aren't so different. I'm trying to find a home and make something of myself. You can do the same thing for yourself, if you play your cards right."

She stared at him, pointedly remaining silent. He kept speaking. "We need the children to cooperate, to behave. They'll be more likely to listen to someone they know."

"Why do you need the children to listen to you?" Sarah asked.

"It is necessary for our plan." He watched her closely.

"What's your plan?" She asked, and when she saw the refusal on his face she crossed her arms against her chest. "I'm not going to help unless I know what's at stake here."

"We wish to restore the galaxy to its rightful order and place a true leader, an Imperial at the throne. It would have been easier if you hadn't saved Organa Solo's life…" As he spoke the door whooshed open, revealing a man in a dark robe, his face was hidden by a cowl. Sarah felt a shiver run down her spine. Commander Trinax stood and bowed, murmuring, "Emperor."

"He's not Emperor yet." Sarah muttered, earning a thunderous look from the Commander. She knew this was the man she was supposed to protect the children from. _Great job I've done so far._ "So, what do you need the kids for?"

"The will be trained in the true ways of the Force." The voice that sounded from underneath the cowl made Sarah shudder.

"Oh?" She pretended to study her nails as she thought quickly. "And how is it you know so much about it?"

"I studied under the true ruler of this galaxy, the Emperor who was assassinated by the Rebel scum. He was a true master of the Force, not your Luke Skywalker." He spat the name, and Sarah could hear the hatred and barely contained anger in his voice.

"And what's in it for me if I help you?" She asked, not caring about the answer.

"You will be given a star system when our plans come to pass; an unimaginable wealth of riches and power, you will be a figure to be feared, not someone downtrodden by the actions of the Rebels." Commander Trinax spoke eagerly, and Sarah pretended to think about it. The robed figure left the room, and Sarah felt herself unwillingly relax a little.

She waited a few moments, to make sure she wouldn't run into him in the hallway outside before she met Commander Trinax's eyes. "No deal."

"It would be in your best interest to do as you're told; you will find living becomes much… harder, if you don't." His voice became steely, and Sarah knew he no longer considered her a potential ally.

"No. I won't betray those children, and I won't betray their parents. Do what you want with me." She stood slowly, spreading her legs into a fighting stance, although she kept her arms crossed. The young woman watched as he pressed a button on his desk, and the door opened, revealing two of the armed guards.

_I think it might be time to get out of here. I just hope I don't run into that freaky guy in the cloak… he was sending off some major Lord Voldemort vibes._ She waited as the guards approached.

As they reached for her arms, Sarah whipped her hand up, to strike the first guard in the throat before sweeping the legs from the other, snatching up his blaster and taking aim at Commander Trinax. She squeezed off a shot, leaving him ducking for cover, but knew that in her hands a blaster was pretty much useless. She had no experience with the weapon. She turned to the corridor, fleeing towards the cell they had been kept in.

_Please tell me they're all awake by now, Mithros took my wand when he sent me here and I doubt I can carry them all at once._ She looked briefly over her shoulder; she didn't see Trinax anywhere. _Maybe I _did_ hit him…_ she ran across a third guard and shot from her hip, strafing the corridor and watching him drop as she ran past.

She turned a corner, skidding to a stop in front of the cell. _Gods, there better not be a code for this door…_ Sarah keyed the release, lowering her blaster as she burst into the room. She stopped suddenly, standing there were seven figures; the three children, who's chins trembled and eyes shone with unshed tears, three guards behind them, with their blasters pointed at their heads. And there, standing in his dark cloak, his face still hidden by shadows, was Mr. Tall Dark and Creepy.

Sarah sighed and dropped the blaster, holding up her hands. "Don't worry kids; we'll get out of this somehow."

"I want mama." Anakin's chin trembled, and she longed to comfort the child.

"We'll get out of this somehow." She repeated, meeting the eyes of each of the children.

She felt more than heard two guards approach from behind; when she glanced at them and noticed one of them massaging his throat, she winced. It seems they hadn't been down for the count after all. One of them kicked the back of her legs out; she fell to her knees. The other one moved in front of her, his knee connected solidly with her chin. It clicked shut; Sarah saw stars as she fell to the cool floor.

_Is Mr Darkside going to let them beat me? It doesn't seem very conducive to a command environment…_ She thought as the first one kicked her in the ribs, before stomping on her hand. She let out a gasp, pain blossomed in both her hand and her chest. The second one dropped to his knees and started working on her face; the only thing that kept her from beating them both to a pulp was the guns still pointed directly at the children's heads. _I guess he _is_ going to let them beat me._

Sarah curled into a ball, hands covering her head as the man's chilling voice commanded, "Enough." Immediately the men stopped, stepping back. Sarah heard the kids whimpering, and tried to open a puffy eye to meet their fearful gazes.

"I- I'm a-alright." Her voice was hoarse, it came out as barely a whisper; the look Jaina gave her told her just how convincing it was.

"You will realise the futility of your actions; you should have accepted my offer of greatness, instead now you will dwindle and die in captivity, like a mindless beast."

He raised a hand, and Anakin started crying in earnest. "No! Don't hurt her!" The young boy struggled to get away from his captor, the man tightened his grip.

"D-don't st-struggle, Anakin. Y-you'll only g-get hurt." Sarah gasped as the effort of talking sent stabbing pain through her chest.

"Wise advice." Lightning gathered at the man's fingertips, Sarah squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the attack. She wasn't disappointed, and the last thought she had before the pain took over and she slid into blissful unconsciousness was an absurd notion that the torture wasn't as bad as a Cruciatus Curse.


	7. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

"S-Sarah?" Jaina whimpered, crawling over to the unconscious girl. The guards had left shortly after the woman had blacked out, and the bad man had left with them. They were alone, and Sarah was unconscious, bleeding sluggishly from a wound on her head. "S-Sarah? Are you okay?"

The woman didn't respond, or make any sound or evidence she was alive, except for her rattling breath. "Is she alright?" Jacen sniffed.

"I-I don't know." Jaina grabbed a fistful of Sarah's shirt, trying to shake the girl into consciousness.

"I want mama, and I want papa." Anakin sobbed, and his older brother hugged him.

"You heard Sarah, we'll get out of this…" Jacen tried to comfort his little brother, to little effect. "Mama and Papa will be here soon. They always come for us."

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Leia tightened her crash webbing, sharing a brief look with Han before turning back to Threepio. "Stop apologizing, there wasn't anything you could do. Now, we have to find them. How solid was your lead?" She directed the question at Han.

"The head of Kelstew Security said that pirates have been kidnapping the children of government types for centuries. Apparently this new group, the Arvisham, is notorious for it. It's not much, but it's the best we've got." Han's voice was tight.

Leia nodded, biting her lip as her eyes filled with concern and suspicion. "It just doesn't sound right…"

Inwardly she was wondering whether Luke had been right; whether Sarah had been hiding something that had led to this. She set her jaw, ignoring the feeling that they were heading in the wrong direction, and nodded to Han, who pulled the hyperspace lever and the stars stretched to starlines, which were replaced with the mottled sky of hyperspace.

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Her breath came in rattled gasps; as she opened her eyes she coughed a little, and was concerned to taste blood. A small moan escaped her lips as she tried to bring her right hand to her head; instead she felt around with her left, wincing as she came in contact with a tender spot; her fingers came away red.

"Great." She muttered; it came out as a rasped whisper.

"Sarah?" Jaina's voice had a touch of hope that nearly broke Sarah's heart.

"Y-yeah. I'm awake. Are you all okay?" Sarah tried to push herself into a sitting position; she fell back to the floor with a whimper. The young girl hovered over her, and Jacen and Anakin peered down at her from her other side. "Can you help me up?"

Jaina and Jacen helped push her into a sitting position; Sarah bit down on her lip to stop herself from crying out when they jostled an injury or applied pressure to a cracked rib. "We're okay Sarah. They've left us alone since…" The girl frowned, trying to avoid tears. "Since they hurt you."

Sarah nodded and closed her eyes for a moment, ignoring the lure of sleep as she tried to think. "Alright, what tools do we have?" She looked pointedly at Jaina.

"I've got my multitool, but I've already tried it on the door, it's durasteel, through and through." She held out the multitool, and Sarah took it in her hand, thinking.

_My Gift could get us out of here, I'd bet my fief on it._ She looked to the door, a determined expression on her face. _Of course, then there's the part where I can barely stand, so the door is only the first of my problems._ "Goddess, give me strength." She whispered, ignoring the confused looks the children gave her. She waited for a few moments before sighing. It seemed the Goddess couldn't hear her this time. She winced as she called again. "Mithros, grant me the strength to escape this prison."

_Do you always have to ask my sister first?_ His voice sounded in her head.

"Yes, I do, she's nicer." Sarah answered out loud; the kids were looking at her as though she had lost it.

_The messes you get yourself into… it's hard to believe you are our Messenger sometimes._

"Yeah, yeah, are you going to help me out here or what?" Sarah asked, even as she felt strength enter her muscles. She scrambled to her feet, crouching to remain on the eye level of the children. She was still dizzy, and it hurt to breath, but she could stand under her own power, which she viewed as success. "Alright, I haven't been completely honest with you and your parents, but you have to trust me. Can you do that?"

The each nodded without hesitation. "Good. Now, stand back, we're going to get out of here."

She reached for the Gift she had coiled in her soul, teasing a crimson strand which thickened as she coaxed it. Allowing it to gather in a ball in her palm, she aimed at the door, loosing raw power and blasting it off its tracks. She peered around the door frame, seeing two guards unconscious on the floor. "Alright, come on! Stay close to me; we need to find our way out of this place."

She set off in the direction heading _away_ from the office, her instincts telling her they were heading away from the centre of the base. Twice they stopped for Sarah, who had to lean against walls as she summoned the strength to continue. Three times they ran into guards; rather than dealing with them hand to hand Sarah blasted them with energy, leaving them stunned to save the children's innocence, although she would have just as happily incinerated anyone who conspired to kidnap children and force them to work for their cause.

By the time Sarah keyed open the door panel that revealed the shuttle bay she was panting heavily, Jaina was clutching her good hand with a death grip, and the boys were looking terrified. Sarah peeked in and saw two guards. Muttering a quick spell, she set a shield around the children, turning to them and saying, "Stay here. When my shield goes down, and you'll know when it does, I want you to run out to me and get onboard that shuttle." She pointed at a shuttle that had its boarding ramp down; crew had just begun to file out from its insides.

"What will you do?" Jaina asked.

"I'm going to clear us a path. Don't worry, you'll be safe under my shield. Do you trust me?" Sarah met each of the children's eyes in turn, peering through the swollen left eye as well as her right.

"Yes." Jaina gave a brave nod, and Sarah returned it.

"Good. Stay here, I'll be back soon." Sarah pointed her hand at the shield, giving it a bit of a twist, focusing on protecting the children and hiding them from sight. _Lucky I practiced that invisibility spell until I got it _just_ right._ She mused as she applied it to herself.

She peered around the door frame, and crept as quietly as possible to the shuttle, waiting by the boarding ramp as the passengers disembarked. One of them was carrying an enviro-suit. When they had finished, Sarah sprung up the boarding ramp, running to the cockpit, holding her breath in suspense. She let it out when she noticed the controls were roughly in the same place as on the _Falcon_. _Alright, it's time to get out of here._

She trotted quietly back to the children, who were watching fearfully. "Alright, change of plans. We'll sneak aboard and I'll pilot us out of here. You guys ready?"

"You'll pilot us out of here?" Jacen frowned with confusion.

"Yep, your father showed me the controls to the _Millennium Falcon_, and the controls on that ship are roughly the same." She answered. "Now, stick close to me, and be quiet."

Sarah could feel her Gift draining slowly but surely; she wouldn't be able to keep up the invisibility spell forever. She set off once again across the shuttle bay, the children terrified and staying very close to her. A guard with a blaster rounded a corner; Anakin panicked and squeezed Sarah's bad hand in fear. She gasped, falling to her knees as she tried not to make any sound and keep the shield up. _Too late._She noticed grimly as the guard changed direction. _He heard that._ Anakin looked like he was about to say something, there were tears in his eyes. Sarah put one finger to her lip in a message to stay quiet.

She stood shakily, feeling a little nauseous with the pain as they continued trotting silently to the ship. As they entered the ship, the guard approached the area she had just been, but Sarah didn't hang around to see what he found, moving into the cockpit quickly and releasing the spell. The children followed closely, sitting in the seats behind her. "Alright… what did Han show me about the start up sequence…" she muttered to herself. "First… the boarding ramp. I gotta retract the boarding ramp. And then… I have to power up the ship, and float it on outta the shuttle bay…"

She searched for the buttons and levers she needed; she wanted to find them all first before she alerted everyone on the base to their escape. Sarah pointed to one. "Jaina, when I tell you to, hit that switch. Jacen, after that I want you to pull that lever until we're hovering above the ground. I'll need you kids to help me here, I can't use my left hand."

They nodded, and Anakin spoke up, his voice trembling. "What do you want me to do?"

"Sit there and strap in. This is going to be a _bumpy_ ride." Sarah muttered, her eyes scanning the control board, praying against hope she had remembered everything correctly. "I hope the buttons are all in the same place…"

"They are." Jaina replied, surprising Sarah.

"Huh?"

"This is a Corellian Freighter, YT-1200. It's just like dad's, just not as good." She answered with pride, and Sarah almost started laughing.

"Okay, are you ready?" She turned to Jacen and Jaina, seeing them nod. "Alright, now!"

Jaina hit the switch to retract the ramp; Jacen pulled the lever and they were hovering above the floor. Immediately voices came over the comm., "Shuttle _Solar Wind_, what are you doing?"

Sarah didn't respond, instead urging her own lever forward as she flew towards the hangar doors. _Come on, come on, don't let them close them!_ Sarah thought she saw movement as they swooped towards freedom. With a grinding, jarring noise Sarah saw the great barrier begin to move; slowly closing to block their freedom. Determined, desperate or just foolish, she increased the speeds to a level that would have splattered against the bulk head if it came to that.

"Hold on. Just a little longer, close _after _we leave, please." She whispered, muttering a quick prayer to anyone that was listening as she watched the closing doors.

With barely a meter to spare on either side, the _Solar Wind_ burst through the closing doors and into dazzling sunlight. They sped over barren terrain, Sarah telling Jaina to adjust their heading to leave the atmosphere as she coaxed more speed out of the ship. Jaina nodded and Sarah turned to the navi computer. "Can any of you program the navi computer?"

They all shook their heads, and Sarah winced. They were going to have to rely on her memory once again. _Alright, let's see…_ She tried to remember all the steps, and when she had finished fiddling she thought she had a heading for Coruscant. She glanced briefly out of the view port, wondering whether they were being pursued, and wished fervently she could call up the HUD. As they cleared atmosphere, alarm sounds began to chime, and Sarah looked over at the system's panel, her face going pale as her mouth hung agape.

"This ship must've been back from a fight… It's damaged." Sarah whispered as she read the diagnosis silently. No comm. unit, thirty five percent life support, but as she watched it dropped a point. "At least we still have hyperdrive… what does that flashing mean?" She mused aloud.

"It means the hyperdrive's gonna fail." Jaina's bottom lip was trembling, and Sarah frowned.

"Alright, let's punch it now, then." She waited for the flashing to turn green, rather than red, and pulled the lever, watching as the stars turned into starlines and then into the mottled white of hyperspace. For all of thirty seconds.

With a loud bang the ship began to shudder violently, the sky turned back into the black of space, and they were each thrown forward in their seats. Sarah hung against her crash webbing for a moment, trying to control the pain that was stabbing into her lungs, gasping short, shallow breaths. When she had herself under control, she glanced up to see Jaina watching the screen fearfully, the boys peering over her shoulder. "What? What is it?"

"The hyperdrive and the sublight engines failed…" She trailed off, pointing at the display.

Sarah gaped for a moment before getting herself under control. "So… we're dead in space? There's no comm., no lightspeed…" She rubbed her arms, wondering whether it suddenly got cold in there as she kept reading off the display. Fear grew inside her as she read the last line. "And the life support is down to twenty two percent."

The children began to whimper, and Sarah ignored them as she searched the cabin and the entertainment area for something, _anything_ to protect them from the depths of space. What she found was three enviro suits. _The passengers… one was carrying an enviro suit…oh no._ She returned to the cabin, her chin set as she spoke to the children. "Alright, get into an enviro suit each, they're all out in the entertainment area. Don't put the helmet on; just wait until you need the air supply they have."

When the kids saw there were only three, they tried to protest. Sarah glared at them. "There is absolutely no way I am getting into one of those suits. Now put them on and stop complaining; I'll force you into them if I have to."

The suits were ridiculously large, and Sarah had to roll up the sleeves and the legs so they could still walk around. "S-Sarah?" Jacen asked. "What are we going to do?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking." Sarah felt around her neck for her necklace, thinking in an absurd manner that she might be able to transport themselves to Tortall, and as such save their lives. When she noticed it wasn't there she swore, ignoring the children's presence as she remembered a doctor taking it off of her when she had first arrived at the medical center. _And I forgot to get it back… smart, Sarah, smart._

"M-mama always tells us the story of how Uncle Luke called out to her through the Force on Bespin and she heard him." Anakin supplied helpfully.

Sarah looked up sharply. "And do you think you can do the same thing?"

They each shared a look. "I don't know." Jacen said finally, and Sarah realised she might be scaring them.

"Alright, can you try? It might be the only chance we have." She tried to make it sound hopeful, but their fearful faces told her it hadn't worked.

"Alright. We'll try." Jaina bit her lip and held out a hand to each of her brothers. They sat down quietly, concentration evident on their faces. Sarah watched, sliding to a rough sitting position on the deck, as the children reached out to their mother.

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Leia sat bolt upright in her seat. "Han! We're going the wrong way!"

He looked at her from the pilot's seat, the sky of hyperspace still outside the view screen. "Huh? How do you- Is this the Force talking?"

Leia didn't reply, instead concentrating on the feeling she got of her children. _Mama… Mama… _Anakin's voice was strongest over the top of them, but she could hear Jaina and Jacen there as well.

"Leia?" Han had unbuckled his crash webbing, and was kneeling in front of her. "Is the Force guiding you?"

She finally met his eyes. "It's like on Bespin, when Luke called out to me."

Han took one last look out the view port before pulling the lever, reverting back to real space. "Can you guide us?"

"I- I don't know…" She bit her lip, thinking. "I think I can…"

"Do we have time to pick up Luke? Would he be able to guide us?" Han asked, eyes focused on his wife.

"I don't think we have the time… I can guide us." She set her jaw.

"Are you sure?" He asked once again.

"Yes. We don't have the time for me to be unsure." She nodded firmly.

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Sarah had drifted off. Now, when she awoke she took a breath of frigid air, seeing fog as she exhaled, and tried to draw enough oxygen into her lungs to power her limbs. She frowned when she found herself breathless, and shuffled over to the kids on all fours. She picked up their helmets, securing them over the suit and pressing the green button that she _hoped_ would activate the air supply in the suit.

The woman watched the children, slumped together, eyes closed, as she tried to breath enough to gather the strength to stand. _I guess life support has fallen a little further…_ she mused silently. _I hope the kids' plan is working, or else this'll be the shortest mission by far._ She shivered uncontrollably; her chest and hand ached with the cold; everytime Sarah moved she gasped in pain.

She settled into a sitting position near the children, staring at the ceiling as she called out to the gods silently. This time, there was no one to hear her pleas, and Sarah felt herself slowly being lulled to sleep.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

The _Falcon_ found them floating in space, and Han sealed his hatch to the hatch of the _Falcon's_ sister ship. Leia was the first through the hatch, a breath mask over her face as she rushed through the ship, finally finding her children huddled together in the entertainment area, Sarah slumped next to them, looking as though she had been beaten half to death. "Han! Chewie!" she called, and they appeared at her side.

"Sithspawn." Han muttered, and Chewie roared in agreement. The man hefted his youngest son in his arm, before slinging Jaina's arm over his shoulder. Leia gathered Jacen, and Chewie lifted Sarah as gently as he could manage.

When they had the four half frozen humans in the heat and air rich _Millennium Falcon_, Han disengaged from the other ship, turning towards the nearest medical facility before rushing back to his children. Leia had removed their enviro suits, and Jaina was rousing. "Mama?" the girl muttered sleepily, and Leia pulled her into a tight hug, using one hand to gently rouse Jacen and Anakin. Chewie was running a sponge soaked in warm water over Sarah's face; it came away red as it washed away the blood stains.

When Leia had the children dressed in warm clothes, wrapped in blankets and sipping hot mugs of stim tea, she returned her attention to Sarah. "How is she?"

Han looked up from his position next to the girl. "Her pulse is thready… I don't think she would have survived much longer if we hadn't turned up when we did."

"She saved us, Mama." Anakin murmured, and Leia looked over to see Jaina and Jacen nodding.

"She said she hadn't been entirely honest with us, and then she blasted the door." Jaina added.

"Blasted? As in, with a blaster cannon?" Leia frowned, although she had a growing suspicion they meant the Force.

"No, but when she did it we couldn't sense it in the Force… she used a red energy to blast the door open, and then she hid us from sight…" Jacen trailed off, as Leia's face grew more and more puzzled.

"We'll talk about it later, when Sarah wakes, alright? Just drink your tea." Leia finished as Sarah moaned, moving her right hand up to clutch Chewie's wrist. Leia noticed for the first time her left was swollen and purple.

"S-stop it, that stings." Sarah rasped, and squinted up at the furry creature through a swollen eye.

"Sarah," Leia began, kneeling next to the woman. "How are you feeling?"

Her breath came in staggered gasps as she answered in a whisper. "Like hell. My left hand is broken… I think I have some broken ribs… prob'ly some internal bleeding. I wouldn't be surprised if… I had a concussion. And I'm really cold."

Leia nodded and brushed the girl's hair out of her face. "We can't warm you up too quickly in case you go into shock, alright?" Sarah nodded, and Leia gently lifted her left hand. Sarah clenched her jaw and balled her right fist; her eyes squeezed shut. "Hm… I wouldn't be surprised if this was shattered. Han, we'll need some pain killers."

Sarah opened her eyes when Leia put down her hand; she turned her head slightly to face the children. Trying for a grin that she knew was a grimace, Sarah rasped, "I told you we'd get out of it somehow."

Jaina's lip trembled. "But you got hurt."

Sarah waved her good hand. "This? Pfft, I've been hurt worse."

"You have?" Leia asked sharply, and Sarah nodded before groaning.

"I'm hard pressed remembering a time right now, but I'm sure I have." Sarah searched the room with her eyes. "Where's Han with those painkillers?"

The man walked into the room with a hypospray, Sarah felt her body almost immediately relax, the pain left her and numbness replaced it. She didn't feel drowsy, but she assumed she'd have no trouble falling asleep when she wanted to. "I have something to tell you." She started, but Leia cut her off.

"You aren't really homeless."

"Depends on your definition." Sarah felt almost giddy, and knew the painkillers would make this explanation nothing more than a dizzy dream. "Here, yes I am. You see, I'm from another dimension, and-"

Han cut her off, not paying attention. "I think we should wait until she's had some sleep, she's not making any sense."

Sarah felt an irrational anger, and in the back of her mind she cursed the side effects of whatever wonderful drug he had pumped her with. "I _am _making sense, damnit!" She thumped her left hand on the floor, and nearly screamed in pain. So the painkillers weren't _that_ strong. "I'm from a different dimension and the gods sent me here to protect your kids!"

Leia looked at her as though she was insane and nodded to Han. "Let's get her patched up and into a bunk. When we get to the medical facility we can dunk her in a bacta tank." Han nodded, and they continued to patch her up as best they could, Sarah rambling seemingly incoherent between them.


	8. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

Sarah cracked her eyes, stifling a groan as she stared at the underside of a bunk. She was in the sleeping quarters on the _Falcon_; her hand was bandaged, and she felt a tight constraint on her chest; she assumed Leia had set her ribs. Raising her right hand to her temple, she felt a bandage there too, and sighed. _Can't I get through one mission without being severely injured?_

Swinging her legs over the side of the bunk took effort; she had to wait for a few minutes before she was able to stand and toddle over to the door, hitting the activation switch and watching as it slid open. Leia looked up and an unusual look passed over her face; Sarah thought it might have been suspicion. "Back to bed, you're in no shape to be up."

"Uh uh." Sarah shook her head doggedly, clinging to the door frame before staggering to the Dejarik table and sitting heavily. "I need to speak to you, Han and Chewie. I need to explain myself."

"Not now you don't. After we get you to a medical facility-" Sarah interrupted Leia.

"Yes, I do. I'm not going back to bed until I explain myself. Where are the children?" Sarah set her chin, determined.

"In bed. Sarah-" Leia started again.

"Just bloody get them! Who knows when I'll be dragged away on some other mission, so just get Han and Chewie so I can tell you who and what I am!" Sarah was seething; in the back of her mind she thought she was angrier at herself than Leia, but she ignored that part of her mind and fixed Leia with a steely glare.

Han poked his head out the door to the cockpit. "Sarah? Did I hear yelling? Why aren't you in bed?"

"Come sit down, Han. I need to talk to you, Leia and Chewie." She held up her good hand. "No arguments, it's very important."

He met Leia's eyes before turning to speak with Chewie, who growled softly in response. Sarah waited until they had left the cockpit, turning the ship on autopilot, and were arrayed around her at the dejarik table. She swallowed suddenly when she realised she had a Wookie who was potentially about to get very angry sitting right next to her. Her right hand moved to her ribs as she straightened painfully.

"Let me introduce myself." She began. "I am Sir Sarah of Greenstone, Shang in training and Adept Mage, and Messenger for the Gods."

Han looked incredulous. "I think you were hit on the head a little too-"

"Can I just speak?" Sarah asked, annoyed. "Look, I never wanted to lie to you, and I'm sorry. I'm from another dimension- Stop looking at me like I'm nuts and please just listen to me." She fixed them all with a stern look before continuing. "About two years ago I was taken from my home on a planet called Earth, and placed in the country of Tortall. The gods told me I was to train as a Knight, mage and a Shang. Knights are different to Jedi; they don't need the Force to do their job. A mage uses a kind of magic called the Gift, and the Shang are martial arts experts. So far I've been on two missions for the gods. Any questions so far?"

"What's that got to do with us?" Han folded his arms across his chest; Sarah could see he didn't believe her.

"Because my third mission was to protect your children." Sarah looked down. "Great job I did of _that_."

"You stopped them from being hurt. Jaina told me what happened; you were trying to escape and rescue them; the guards had blasters to their heads. She told me you took the beating so they wouldn't be hurt. We owe you everything." Leia patted her on the shoulder.

"You don't owe me anything." Sarah muttered. She sighed. "I get sent wherever I'm needed. The first mission I had was to defeat the Three Sorrows. That's where I got my scars from, and that's what my nightmares are about. Oh, and by the way, I'm not homeless, and I can read. I just couldn't read your alphabet; it's very different to my own. I would have told you everything, but I had to make sure I had access to the kids, or I would never have been able to protect them, and I'm pretty sure you're considering shipping me off to the nearest asylum."

"Yeah, just maybe." Han muttered, but Leia hit him on the shoulder, gesturing for Sarah to continue, a weird look on her face.

"Anyway, after the first mission I got sent on another, to a place called Hogwarts, where I was told I was supposed to help a kid named Harry Potter defeat an evil wizard… boy was _that _fun." Sarcasm dripped from her voice. "The first mission took almost six months, a month's break, and then I was at Hogwarts for ten months. The gods turn up whenever they feel like it and whisk me away on another mission."

"Have you been back to Earth?" Leia translated Chewie's question.

"I don't want to talk about that." Was the quiet reply. "Suffice to say that I'm not welcome there anymore."

Leia's eyes softened, and she asked a question of her own. "Why would the gods care about our children?"

Sarah sighed, scrubbing her face with her good hand. "Well, there's a variety of reasons. It could be something as innocent as them wanting to protect you children because they take it personally when someone messes with their chosen leaders, or it could be something serious. It could be that they have plans that involve your kids." She steeled herself for a response from either of the humans; she was surprised when she received nothing but mild interest. "And you don't believe a thing I'm saying."

"No." Han replied. "I think you need to get back to bed, when we get to the medical facility you'll go straight into a bacta tank, and then we can get the real story from you."

Sarah narrowed her eyes and stood; Chewie stood to let her pass, thinking she was heading back to bed. When she walked to the centre of the entertainment area he chuffed a question. Guessing at the interpretation, Sarah said, "I'm going to show you my Gift. Leia, I want you to reach out with the Force, and watch for any sign that what I'm using is connected to that. I'm pretty sure it isn't, but who knows."

She racked her brain, thinking of a suitable spell. _Fire's no good; I don't want to seem like a threat to them, Han's already suspicious. Light, then._ She held up her right hand, focusing intently on the shadow of her Gift. _I guess I used a lot up during the escape…_She teased a whisper of crimson energy out, leading it down her wrist and to her palm, which emitted a red glow. She watched their reactions, and was satisfied to see Han's jaw dropping.

"Anything?" Sarah asked, she couldn't keep the slightly condescending tone from her voice.

"No…" Leia seemed flabbergasted.

"I can do flame, pure energy, invisibility spells and a whole range of useful war spells. Unfortunately, healing isn't one of my skills." Sarah grimaced. "The Force is all encompassing, right?" Leia nodded. "Well, the Gift comes from within. When you use too much you exhaust yourself. I know this is all a lot to take in, but you have to believe me; I never wanted to lie to you and I would never let anything happen to you or your children." Her voice filled with pleading.

"I'm not sure I can..." Han sounded troubled.

Sarah sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of." _Alright, time to bring in the big guns. If they don't believe it after this, well I have no idea what I'll do._ "Mithros, would you grant us with your presence?" She cocked her head, waiting for the tell tale crack of his appearance. "Any time now…" She muttered.

_Why are you bothering me? It's nothing to do with me if they don't believe you._ From the expressions on the other's faces, Sarah was the only one who could hear him. "Well, it is your business if I can't complete the mission you gave me because I'm admitted to a psychiatric institution." She added a hint of threat to her voice. She honestly didn't care what his reaction to her insolence was; he'd jerked her around too much on this mission so far.

The crack she had been waiting for finally came, and Mithros stood before her with a bored expression on his face. Han jumped up, whipped his blaster out and pointed it at the god. Sarah winced. "Probably a smart idea to put the blaster away, Han. May I present Mithros, god of War and Justice?"

Leia stood and bowed. "It is an honour, your…" She looked at Sarah, Sarah shrugged.

"Don't ask me how to address him, I never bother with the formalities."

"If you believe our Messenger now, I was in the middle of important business." He fixed Sarah with a gaze, and she grew worried.

"Has anything happened? No one's decided to go attack Tortall, have they? I should be there if there's a war-" He cut off her ramblings.

"There will be no war. That is what we will prevent. The Carthaki rebels have garnered support, and they have arrayed a fleet of boats against the Tortall shore line." He seemed miffed.

"What? Since when? I've been gone, like, a fortnight… I need to get back there." She said firmly. "The kids are safe; I protected them from Dr Evil and his gang of dimwits. I'm needed at home."

"And what will happen with Runorlan and his force when you are gone?" Mithros asked, his voice all too patient.

"Who?" Sarah was puzzled.

"Dr Evil." His voice was dry as he responded. "The Carthaki rebels have lost the favour of my siblings and myself; we will make sure they do not do any damage. You are needed here."

"Needed here… I'm needed there!" Sarah's eyes blazed with fury. "I have no experience fighting Dark Jedi, that's best left to the experts." She jabbed a finger at Han, Leia and Chewie, who were sitting agape.

A door whooshed open, and Jaina, Jacen and Anakin were revealed, all looking tired. "Sarah? What's going on? Who's that?"

"You are needed here. Runorlan will gather strength, and you will be needed. It is time you told young Master Skywalker the whole truth; your job protecting the children is not yet complete." His voice took on an ominous quality, and Sarah's eyes narrowed.

"If anyone is hurt…" She trailed off, leaving the threat hanging. He disappeared without acknowledging her, and she sat with a sigh, resting her face against the cool Dejarik table top.

"Sarah?" Leia rested an arm on her shoulder; she flinched at the contact.

"I'm fine. Han, turn the ship around, let's get to Yavin now. I'll be fine for the time being, but we need to get that son of a bitch, before anything happens back home. Do you believe me now?" Sarah looked up with bleary eyes.

"You need to get medical-" Han started, but Leia cut him off, watching Sarah.

"No, Han. Let's get to Yavin."

Sarah rested her head against the table once more, wishing this mission was over.

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The ship settled on the grassy landing pad, and Sarah was down the ramp before it had fully extended. Luke had turned out to greet them; his face creased in worry as he took in Sarah's appearance. "We need to talk." She pulled him along with her good hand, not waiting for Han, Leia or Chewie to make their way down the ramp. "There's a Dark Jedi out there somewhere planning the downfall of the New Republic. Can we please hurry up?"

He blinked and followed behind Sarah. "What?! Where are you heading?"

She didn't pause in her step. "Is there somewhere we can talk in private; I have a lot of explaining to do and we need to decide what we're going to do about Lord Runorlan and his posse of psychotic usurpers."

He looked back at Leia and Han; the Wookie had stayed with the children. They gave him a sobered look and nodded; he gestured towards the Temple. "This way."

When they reached the dining hall he stuck his head through the door, calling Kam, Tionne and Streen out, cancelling all the lessons for the day. The other Knights followed without a word, but their eyes conveyed their concern at the unusual behaviour. They had reached a conference room; Sarah looked around and saw an old tactical display, realising this must have been the base of operations during the first Death Star attack.

"Alright, so I'm not really a homeless punk from the lower levels of Coruscant, and sorry to disappoint you, Luke, but it wasn't the Force that guided me to save Leia that day; it was Mithros." She proceeded to explain the situation to the Knights and Master Skywalker, and gestured to Han and Leia when they looked sceptical. "The gods don't like being called up every other day to prove a point, and I'm on thin ice with Mithros as it is, so you'll just have to take my word, and the word of Han and Leia."

Luke looked thoughtful. "You said you showed them your… Gift. Would you care to show us?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "We don't have time for this, we have to deal with Runorlan ASAP…" she muttered, but held up her good fist, letting it burst into flames as she focused her anger on her magic. "Happy? D'you believe me now?"

Luke's eyes had widened. "How can that be… I sensed your anger, but I didn't get a feel of the Dark Side… or any feel of the Force."

"The Gift comes from within. The Force is all encompassing, so when someone uses it, it creates a kind of impression, right?" At his nod she continued. "Well, the Gift is contained to whatever mortal vessel carries it. Look, we don't have time for doubt and disbelief. We need to develop a plan to get rid of this guy so I can go home and deal with the problems there."

Kam sat forward. "So let me get this straight-"

"No. I've explained it, if you didn't listen the first time ask Leia or Han for the cliff notes; they've heard it twice now. As it is, I need to deal with this as quickly as possible; every day I spend here is another day my friends are on the front line, fighting for their lives and the lives of my country men." Sarah's eyes narrowed, but Streen would not be deterred.

"I thought you said you were from a planet called Earth."

"I _was._ But I've found my home with Tortall and I'm not sure why we're still arguing over this." Sarah's teeth were clenched.

Leia stood and placed a hand on her arm. "Sarah, relax. If I hadn't met Mithros, I wouldn't believe the story myself."

A chime sounded at the door, and Luke stood to speak with a communications officer. They spoke quietly for a moment, before Luke turned back to the room, finding his seat once again. "Mara Jade is requesting permission to land; I told the comm. officer to bring her here."

Sarah held up her good hand, "I am _so_ not explaining it a third time." They waited several minutes before a red head with sharp, green eyes entered the room. Luke stood again, speaking quietly, but Sarah heard the woman raise her voice.

"Sithspawn, another Dark Jedi? So that's what guided me here…" She glanced around the room, her eyes wary. When she noticed Sarah standing at the front of the table, her eyes narrowed, and she whispered something to Luke.

He replied in a normal voice, almost conversationally. "Sarah is here to help us deal with our Dark Jedi problem. If you want the details, perhaps you should ask her later."

"Or perhaps you should ask Han or Leia; I'd rather not explain myself _again._" Was Sarah's short response. "Anyway, what's the standard procedure with Dark Jedi?"

Kam set his face, his eyes hard, as Luke replied. "We must try to turn him from the Dark Side, if it is possible."

Sarah gave him a look of disbelief. "You want to convert him. And just how do you plan on doing that?"

"We will show him the error of his ways." Luke's eyes met hers; she scoffed and turned away.

"Right. Well, while you're doing that I'll be sticking him with a sword. I-" She was cut off by a loud crack; this time it was the Great Mother Goddess standing before her. She bowed low. "Great Mother, it is an honour, as usual." She grimaced as she twinged her ribs.

"My Messenger, have you been well?" Half the people in the room had pulled out weapons at her appearance, now they clapped their hands to their ears as the Great Mother's voice crashed like thunder and howling wolves in their minds.

Sarah, who had winced and set her teeth when the Great Mother had spoken, managed a nod. "As well as can be expected, given my track record. At least no one's fired a killing curse my way." She tried for a grin, but managed only a grimace.

"Forgive my lack of presence, I heard you calling but I was required in Ekallatum." The Mother was watching her carefully.

"Ekallatum, Goddess? What about the Carthaki Rebels opposing the Tortallan border?" Sarah asked, concerned at the aspect of second potentially large conflict.

"That business is not as dire as my brother would lead you to believe." Sarah growled at this, but the Mother continued. "Are you sure you are well, Messenger?"

Sarah, who was feeling a queasy by this time, nodded once more. "Yep. This is probably completely improper of me, but I'm sure this isn't just a social call…"

A flash of light and a bag of weapons appeared in the Great Mother's hands; she passed them onto Sarah, who struggled under the weight with only one good hand. "Once again, are you sure you are well, Messenger?"

Sarah mock-glared at the Mother before shaking her head. "If you mean physically, I guess you could count three broken fingers, a dislocated thumb, four cracked ribs and a mild concussion as doing alright, don't you think?"

Han stepped forward to relieve Sarah of the weapons, struggling under the weight, as the Goddess replied. "I can heal your ailments, my daughter, if you desire."

Sarah ignored Han's disbelieving query of "'My daughter'?", and nodded in relief. "That'd be great."

Without any warning, the Goddess stepped forward and placed both hands on her shoulders; with a crack her ribs and fingers healed. Sarah cried out and dropped to her knees, panting with the pain. Leia rushed to her side, and when Sarah had recovered she glanced at the deity, muttering, "Can I just say… _ow_!"

"Everything comes with a price, Messenger. I could not heal you without you _feeling_ it; we are not allowed."

Sarah, who was standing again, shrugged. "I'll remember for next time." She turned to the weapons bag that Han had placed on the table, pointedly ignoring the looks the occupants of the room were giving her. She heard Mara Jade asking Luke questions in a whisper, firing them off rapidly as he answered just as quickly. "What goodies did you bring me?" She muttered to herself, and her eyes lit up as she noticed many of the weapons from her collection in Tortall.

"You should try your Yamani saber against a lightsaber, Messenger." Prompted the Great Mother, and Sarah looked up sharply.

"What?! No way, Wildcat gave that to me for my birthday last year; she paid a small fortune for it. Why would I go throwing it away like that?" Sarah's voice rose with disbelief.

"Trust me." Was the gentle reply.

Sarah folded her arms against her chest, her jaw clenched as she considered it. If the Great Mother Goddess really wanted to prove a point, she would ruin the sword herself. Sarah was better off doing as she was told, and hoping she could use her wand to repair it later. She sighed and turned back to the table. "A volunteer to ruin a fortune in Yamani workmanship?"

No one moved. "Come on, guys. Just one of you turn on those fancy laser swords of yours and cut my saber in half already, it's not a good idea to defy a god…" Luke stood slowly at this, his green blade snapping on with a _hiss_.

"Are you certain, Sarah?" He asked, his eyes never leaving the Goddess.

"I guess so…" She sighed, and unsheathed her sword, holding it in a forward guard. When he swung his blade to collide with hers, an interesting thing happened. The blue steel blade wasn't cut in two; instead there was a white flash, and Luke's blade was repelled much like an ordinary sword. "What the…" She trailed off, and turned to the Great Mother, a slow grin spreading over her face as she reached for her neck, to grasp the amber necklace she kept there. When her hand clutched empty air, a panicked look crossed her face, and the Goddess held out a hand.

"Try not to lose this again, my daughter." There was an amused tone to her voice, and Sarah hung her head, suitably chagrined.

"I didn't even notice it was gone…" She muttered as she grasped the amber, which was a gift from the Goddess; it allowed her to see magic when it would otherwise be undetectable. Now she examined her weapons, whistling in awe. "This is some mighty fine handiwork; who did it, Mynoss?"

The Great Mother nodded once. "No mortal could replicate the effect. The weapons are still sharp enough to be effective, even through the shield, but the weapons of this dimension will not have so great an advantage. The spell will last until the mission is completed."

Sarah nodded, looking apologetic. "I'm, uh, sorry, about flipping out when you told me to test my sword against a lightsaber. I should know by now to trust your advice. It won't happen again."

"My daughter, your questioning nature is part of the reason you have survived this long as our Messenger and a knight. Of course, should you decide to question my brother, he might not be so receptive." The Goddess' eyes twinkled, and Sarah smothered a grin. "Our time draws to a close, Messenger. Complete your mission successfully; it is vital to the continued progress in this dimension." The last sentence was said in Scanran, a language only Sarah could be expected to understand, and one that she had only just begun to learn a few months prior.

She took a few seconds to decipher the meaning of the phrase before nodding. "Of course, Goddess. Thankyou for your consideration."

Another crack and the Goddess was gone, leaving a room full of stunned Jedi, and a bemused Messenger for the Gods in her wake. Sarah sighed, a plan hatching in her mind as she turned to the weapons that lay on the table. Her eyes skimmed over what was available; she ignored the crossbow and long bow, they would be useless against repeating blasters. She lingered on the blades, choosing a long sword and her Yamani saber before turning to the knives.

"Sarah?" Leia's voice was questioning, and Sarah met her eyes quickly before replying.

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

Sarah took a moment to reply, securing two spring-loaded holsters to each of her wrists before pulling her sleeves back down. She tested each release as she answered, meeting Leia's eyes with a sober expression. "I'm going after Lord Runorlan, right now. It's time I dealt with the problem at hand; I'm needed at home."


	9. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

_"I'm going after Lord Runorlan, right now. It's time I dealt with the problem at hand; I'm needed at home."_

Mara was the first to break the silence after Sarah's statement. "So I'm confused."

Leia ignored the red head's statement. "Sarah, you can't go after him by yourself, it's too dangerous."

"No… it's not too dangerous, not for me. You people don't seem to understand; this is my _job_. It's what I _do_. Stop treating me like some child who wandered into this line of work; that may have been true two years ago, but it isn't anymore." Sarah gave Leia a hard stare; the woman didn't back down.

"How can you say this is your job, when you've never faced a Dark Jedi before?" Tionne's question was all too rational.

"I've faced three giant spectres of _death_, a man who's very actions inspired such fear in a world that nobody dared to speak his _name_, and the worst raiding season since the summer of the sweating sickness, and that was some twenty odd years ago. Most raiders have at least one mage in their group; I'm used to fighting people with special abilities." Sarah was getting too sick of explaining herself.

"I still think you should wait for a New Republic battle group. How do you plan on getting back there?" Han asked.

"Anyone got a spare shuttle?" Sarah asked, and the former smuggler barked a laugh.

"What, after you nearly destroyed the last one? What makes you think you can pilot a shuttle?" He asked, incredulous.

"One; I didn't nearly destroy the last one, it was like that when I got it. Two, you showed me the ropes, didn't you?" Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"A half an hour seminar _isn't_ enough to pilot a shuttle into a firefight, Sarah." She looked around as he answered, and saw nothing but patient faces; the kind you see an adult make when they're explaining a difficult concept to a child.

Before she could take offence or continue trying to explain the circumstances to the Jedi arrayed around the room, a furry head poked in through the door. Chewbacca _harrumphed_ an explanation. "The kids want to make sure you're okay." Luke translated for Sarah.

Three not-so-furry heads poked around the doorframe; when they spied Sarah they walked towards her, shuffling their feet awkwardly. Jaina was the first to speak. "Are you mad at us?"

Sarah blinked. "No… of course not. Why? How could I ever be angry with you?"

"You got hurt because of us…" Anakin answered for the other two.

Sarah met each of their eyes before speaking. "I want to tell you something, something very important. When something bad happens, it's not the fault of who it happened to. It's the fault of who did the bad thing. You didn't hurt me; it was the men who captured us that hurt me. I will _never_ be angry with you, alright?"

They each nodded, and Sarah added, "Now, I'm sure you want something other than rations to eat, so why don't you go with Chewie to the dining hall and grab some lunch?"

Chewie shepherded them out of the room; Tionne was watching her carefully. "You have a way with children, Sarah."

Sarah gave a quick grin. "There was an outbreak of the flu in Greenstone three months ago; parents who have problems with the nobility sullying themselves with their children soon get over it when the nobility is the only person available to treat them. My friend Alanna healed the parents, I looked after the kids."

Tionne nodded, but Mara chose this time to recover from her shock enough to scoff. "So we have a glorified nanny. I'll bet you can't even use half of these weapons you have here."

Sarah knew she was baiting her, but decided to bite anyway. She sighed as she spoke. "I guess you want to see my skills then."

A few nods; others raised their eyebrows and folded their arms across their chests. _If I have to go through a really long explanation every time I am so going to quit. They can find another Messenger; this is taking _way _too long._ "Alright. Show me the way to the training fields, I forget where they are."

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Sarah stood before the training droid; she had been informed it was SoroSuub TD567, the best training droid on the market. She didn't care; she just wanted to know how much damage it could withstand. As the Jedi and Han settled themselves around the room, Sarah shrugged off her weapons belt and arm sheathes, stretching underused muscles that screamed in protest.

Sarah stood after she had finished jumping up and down on the spot to get the blood pumping. She turned to Mara, who was watching closely and asked, sarcastic, "Anything you'd like to see? I figure you don't want me to use my swords to cut into the training droid…"

Luke replied for her, his voice dry, "Thankyou, but no. SoroSuub was gracious enough to donate a shipment to us; I doubt they'd do it again because we sliced them to pieces."

Sarah shrugged. "Unarmed then, at least to begin with."

Sarah surveyed the droid, thinking over what Kam had told her about it. _A droid with a gel covering; the area struck turns yellow if the hit connected solidly, red if it would _really_ hurt, and blue for incapacitating or killing shots._ She dropped into a fighting stance, the _Crouching Dragon_, and gestured to Han. "Start it up."

He sighed and pressed a button on the remote control in his hands, and Sarah launched into a high kick. The droid lunged for her; she dodged with ease. The fight went like any she had fought in the last six months; very one sided. After a few moments of rapid movements, Sarah leapt into a flying kick; when she connected she arched her back, using her momentum to flip over in the air. She landed, turned to spectators and bowed, before glancing back at the droid, very pleased to see nothing but fading blue marks, mingled with a few red marks.

"Happy? Satisfied?" she asked; the Jedi just watched her carefully. Iron hands gripped her; she felt herself being lifted in the air. "Crap…" She muttered. Sarah tried moving her arms; that didn't work. She met Luke's eyes as she spoke evenly. "For future reference, in a fight I don't let my guard down like that. And also, if this were a real situation, I would have blasted it with my Gift by now. So get it to put me down before its hands are slag." Her voice was all too sweet; Han deactivated the droid quickly and it dropped her on the ground.

Mara, ever the blunt one, shook her head. "Doesn't mean you'd stand two minutes against a Dark Jedi. If the lightsaber skills don't beat you, the Dark Side lightning will."

"Oh for the love of- Fine, let's go then. My sword versus your lightsaber, and I'll show you what I can do." Sarah drew the Yamani saber, eyes lingering on the blue steel blade.

Mara drew her lightsaber; Luke stepped between them. "Perhaps training sabers would be a better idea, hmm?"

When they had retrieved the training sabers, and Mara stood before her, Sarah bowed first to Luke, then to her adversary. Mara returned the gesture, and the duel began. Immediately Sarah noticed a very different fighting style. _Careful… she won't move the way you expect her to._ She told herself, and continued to watch carefully. Mara was the first to strike.

Sarah moved her blade in a crescent block; in most fights it causes the enemy to open a wide, unguarded area over their midsection. Mara simply withdrew her attack, keeping her guard up. Sarah grinned, and continued moving parallel to Mara's path. This time it was Sarah's turn to attack. She stabbed at the woman's midsection; when the Jedi blocked it she whipped the blade around for a swipe at her side, and the duel was on.

Parry, swipe, lunge, block. Sarah could see why Luke had wanted them to use training sabers. Mara was _good_. The next swing from the redhead was all too close; Sarah decided to end the duel, one way or another. She reversed the grip, slashing at Mara and using her momentum to carry her around in a pirouette. As she spun she reversed the grip again, and brought the blade down at the Jedi's head; Mara barely blocked it. The next few movements came in a flurry; Sarah forced the woman back step by step, until she snaked the blade around the other woman's; at the last minute Mara twisted her blade. Instead of Sarah disarming the woman they were both left weaponless as the training swords flew across the room.

Han let out a low whistle. "She sure showed you." He spoke to the redhead; Sarah stepped forward to shake her hand.

"You're the best fight I've had in a while. My teachers can still thrash me, but I've never seen half the moves you pulled." For a moment it was easy enough to forget the entire situation, to revel in the thrill of a good duel.

The redhead took her hand, giving it a firm pump and a nod. "Then I guess there's just one last thing for you to show us. Your 'Gift'."

Sarah shook her head. "I'm sure you can just take my word for it, considering I've proven my other abilities. I'd rather save my Gift for when it's needed; it's not like the Force, it's a strength that comes from within. If I use it now, then I might be weakened for the fight."

Luke, who had been watching the entire event carefully, spoke. "It will take at least three days before we can launch an attack, and that's only _if_ Leia pulls some strings. We need to organise a full task force, and you need to brief us and whoever commands the mission on what we face."

_Okay, getting really sick of being tested… I guess I could put an end to this, if it's going to be three days anyway._ She rubbed her face tiredly. "Han, move the _Falcon_. This is a favourite of my friend Numair; he doesn't use it often because of how much power it takes. In case anyone is wondering, what I'm about to do will probably be completely useless in a battle here, it's just a really good demonstration spell."

Everyone watched her suspiciously. Han asked, "Why do I have to move the _Falcon_?"

"Just do it, alright? Please?" Sarah's voice held no room for argument, everyone filed out of the room, Sarah at the front as she strode down the corridor.

When they had made their way outside Sarah glanced briefly at the grass before turning to speak quietly to Luke. "I hope you don't mind, but when I'm done there's going to be a long crack in the ground…"

He looked up sharply, but Sarah just grinned brightly before stalking past him. She rolled up her sleeves, spread her legs to a solid stance, and called to the people arranged. "You might want to get behind me." She watched as everyone shuffled back a few steps, and the _Falcon_ rose off the ground. "Everyone ready?"

"Maybe you should just get on with it?" Mara's voice was doubtful, she could feel the eyes of everyone on her as she rose her right hand, focusing on her Gift. Sarah spoke a word in old Thak; sweat beaded on her temples as the ground split and cracked, a large fissure replaced what was once unmarred grass.

Sarah turned to smirk triumphantly; she saw shocked expressions on everyone's faces. Luke was the first to recover. "And… um… what will we do for a landing pad now?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Did you honestly think I would use a spell like _this_ if I couldn't repair the damage? Please, what kind of person do you think I am?" She turned back to the crack, raising her hand again as she sealed the crack using another word in old Thak. Sweat beading down her face, she fell to one knee while she recovered. Leia knelt beside her, making sure she was alright.

Sarah met the eyes of each of the Jedi as she stood shakily. "Now that we've gotten the doubt out of our systems, why don't we prepare for our attack on Runorlan, hmm?"

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_Nutritional gruel tastes _nasty. Sarah decided as she scoffed her food. The kids were sitting next to her while she ate three times her normal meal size. She was trying to build her strength before she took a potentially _long _nap. "So you ride four legged creatures called horses?" Jacen was asking, curious.

"Yep. Great creatures, they are." She answered between bites. "My horse's name is Topaz, she's a real beauty."

"Awesome…" The boy trailed off, his eyes full of wonder.

"Tell me about the flying brooms, tell me about the flying brooms!" Jaina was almost jumping up and down; Sarah paused, her mouth full of food. She swallowed before speaking.

"Well… they're brooms and they can fly." Sarah said, shaking her head as she heard her own response. As Jaina opened her mouth to ask another question, Sarah held up a hand. "Alright, Q&A is over. How's this; if your parents say yes I'll take you all to Tortall one day, and show you around Greenstone and Corus, okay?"

"Really?" Their eyes lit up, and Sarah grinned.

"Yep. But right now I need to finish my food and get some rest, alright?" They each nodded, but they continued to watch her. Sarah sighed. "So that means you should go find Tionne or your Uncle or someone and bug them, okay?" _Or maybe not them; while I'm here they're planning our attack, complete with New Republic battle group._

They each nodded and left, followed shortly by Sarah, who trudged to the quarters she had been assigned; she flopped tiredly onto the sleeping pallet, her eyes fluttering closed as she drifted off.

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Han shook her awake; she flailed blearily for a moment before remembering where she was. "How long was I out for?" She asked as she pulled her boots on quickly.

"Two days. The battle group is in orbit; we're waiting on you, kid." He said as she swore, scooping up her weapons quickly and rushing out the door.

On the way down the corridor she asked, "Why the hell didn't you wake me sooner?"

"I figured if you slept for two days you needed every minute of rest you could get. You really drained yourself with that ground splitting trick you did, didn't you?" He asked her as he followed.

"Yep. I did warn you all…" She muttered as she checked her reserves; not too bad, all things considered. "So, I thought you said it would be at least three days… Leia pull a lot of strings, did she?"

"Yep. And the Republic wants this problem dealt with as quickly as possible." He answered as he followed her outside. He took her weapons off of her and stowed them in the _Falcon_ as she saw a man standing by the landing strut.

"Wedge… General Antilles…" She trailed off as he viewed her coolly. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth. I assume Leia, Han or Luke have filled you in?"

"Yes." His reply was short, he continued to view her suspiciously, before cracking into a large grin. "I guess we should start again. I'm Wedge." He held out a hand.

"Sir Sarah Gibson, nice to meet you." She returned his grin with an impish smile.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't have believed you even if you had told me; I had trouble believing Luke when he told me. Let's get to business, shall we?" He asked, and she nodded. "You'll be on the ground strike team, if we find there's a need for one. Initial intelligence reports suggest that they have approximately twelve capital ships, and at least two wings of fighters. We couldn't get close enough to get a detailed report of ground conditions, so your particular brand of skills might be necessary."

Sarah nodded. "Forgive my ignorance, General, but how many fighters are two wings of fighters?"

He grimaced. "One hundred forty four." Sarah winced, and at his gesture walked up the boarding ramp to the _Falcon_.

When she walked into the cockpit, sitting behind Chewie as Leia sat next to her, she asked, "Where's the kids?"

Leia answered her. "Winter took them to Anoth; it's a safe haven we've used in situations like this before."

Sarah nodded, and the _Falcon_ lifted off, on the way to Sarah's first ever space battle.

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Sarah stared out the view port with a sense of foreboding. Han had taken the _Falcon_ on a quick tour of the Republic forces to show Sarah the kind of taskforce they had rustled before they left the Yavin system. The force arrayed before them more than matched that; to her untrained eye it looked like it was going to get real ugly, real quick. Han saw her expression and was quick to reassure her. "Don't worry, they're using uglies and TIEs; they're no match for A-Wings, E-Wings and X-Wings. Rogue and Wraith Squadrons will decimate those fighters, and our Mon Calamarian cruisers and Star Destroyers are more than a match for those old Dreadnaughts."

Sarah drew a comparison to knights versus unseasoned hillmen, and nodded, although she was still a little uncertain. A voice crackled over the comm., Sarah recognized it as Wedge. "Attention all groups. Prepare to engage."

Sarah checked her crash webbing as Han and Leia unbuckled their own, making their way to the gun turrets. _Wish I wasn't a dead weight…_ Sarah thought ruefully, but she didn't have time for anymore self pity as the enemy converged on the New Republic forces; a melange of green, red and blue lights surrounded the _Falcon_ as they dived into the thick of the action, shots firing from both gun turrets as Chewie muttered to himself.

The young knight gripped the armrests tightly as they spun and swirled around the action in a manner she never knew was possible; briefly she wondered how Alanna might react to this particular kind of travel. _She'd have been sick by now._ She thought grimly as TIE fighters swarmed the _Falcon_.

Two X-Wings- Sarah saw now why they were named so- came to their rescue, destroying the four TIEs with some well placed scarlet laser bolts. "Thanks Rogue Nine." Han's voice came over the comm., and Sarah heard the pilot reply.

"Anytime, Captain Solo."

The capital ships of the New Republic task force had made it within range for a planetary bombardment; now their shots ricocheted off a powerful shield, and Wedge's voice came over the comm. "Ground force, that's your signal. The shield's too powerful for us to punch through, but sensors have indicated holes large enough for a commando strike. They're too small for a snubfighter strike, so we need you to get the shield down. You're a go. Rogue Squadron will provide you with cover to the planet."

Chewie brought the _Falcon_ around at this, and Sarah unbuckled her crashwebbing, making her way to the entertainment area, where she shrugged on a weapon's belt and fitted herself with enough arms to supply a small commando force. As she returned to the cockpit she noticed fourteen fighters weaving and twirling through the air, firing at the random fighters and basically clearing them a path. Sarah saw Mara Jade's fighter among them, and assumed one of the X-Wings would be Luke.

They drew closer to the ground, and their escort fell back, all but three fighters, providing a shield against fighters looking to follow them into the atmosphere. They came up for landing, and Sarah met Han and Leia in the entertainment area. Chewie joined them when the ship had been powered down; he picked up his bowcaster and slapped the activation panel.

By the time they filed out of the ship there were three pilots heading towards them, Luke, Mara and a new comer. Sarah eyed him warily; she noticed closely cropped brown hair and striking green eyes. Luke introduced them. "Sarah, meet Lieutenant Corran Horn, Corran meet Sarah."

Sarah nodded tersely to the pilot. "Great to meet you."

He looked her over, his face betraying his scepticism. "And you too. Are we laying siege to a castle, or is this some kind of joke?"

Mara snickered and Sarah narrowed her eyes. Han shook his head. "I wouldn't goad her, if I were you, Corran."

He shrugged, but watched Sarah carefully as she turned to Luke. "Which way? I got all turned around in that space battle, and I didn't get a good look at the place when I was escaping last time."

He was quiet for a moment before responding. "This way." They set out in the direction he indicated, hiking for a few long minutes before they came upon an invisible barrier.

"Now all we need is to find a hole…" Han muttered. They searched for a few minutes and came up blank.

"I thought General Antilles said that there were holes large enough for us to fit through." Sarah frowned, puzzled.

"Yeah, but we couldn't detect exactly where those holes were. It was kind of… luck of the draw." Corran kicked at the dirt, and glanced upwards, towards the battle that was raging above them.

"Hold on!" Mara exclaimed. "I think I've found something." She stuck her hand through a small fissure in the shield, and frowned in disappointment. "Or not. It's way too small."

Sarah glanced at Luke. "How do these shields work? Will excessive blunt force or energy widen that hole?"

He met her eyes, seeing where she was going with this and nodded. "Yes. Corran, Mara, stand back."

Everyone moved behind Sarah as she gathered her Gift. In the two days since they had set out for the siege against Lord Runorlan her Gift had been replenished to full strength; now she had the strength to collapse this section of the shield and more. She focused on concentrating a controlled burst of energy; when Sarah released the pent up energy it blew a hole more than large enough to walk through; Sarah gave Corran a triumphant smirk.

He shook his head and grinned, bowing low over his arm as he gestured to the hole. Sarah walked through the hole, watching warily as she realised they were now officially behind enemy lines. They had to run along the terrain for a few minutes longer before sprinting across to a huge complex; the Jedi cut their way in using their lightsabers.

As they ducked through the corridors Sarah disposed of three guards silently, gesturing for the Jedi to keep their noisy weapons deactivated. All of the corridors looked the same; dull, grey, lifeless, but Sarah was certain they had reached the room her and the Solo children were kept in when she noticed black scorch marks and a buckled door. She whistled lowly as she saw her own handiwork. "Looks like I was _really_ pissed off when I did that…"

They walked a little further, and Sarah approached a corner just as Commander Trinax rounded it. He yelled a warning just as Sarah's fist connected solidly with his jaw; it came out incomprehensible, but the damage was done.

Within moments there was blaster fire pouring at them from both directions; the Jedi stepped forward to deflect the bolts. "Well these guys are certainly efficient." Han muttered from his position in the centre of the group.


	10. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

_Within moments there was blaster fire pouring at them from both directions; the Jedi stepped forward to deflect the bolts. "Well these guys are certainly efficient." Han muttered from his position in the centre of the group._

The enemy forces were slowly being taken out by the deflected blaster bolts; now they redoubled in size as reinforcements arrived. "We have to get out of here!" Leia's voice sounded over the ruckus; Sarah hit a door panel, seeing another holding cell.

"In here! We'll figure out a way to deal with them later!" She watched as Han, Chewie, Leia and Mara dove through the door. Sarah followed them; they were soon joined by Luke and Corran.

"What's the plan?" Han asked as he inserted a fresh Tibanna cartridge in his blaster.

"I am." Sarah said with certainty, extending her arms to activate her spring loaded holsters. "It would have taken too much strength to keep a shield up over everyone for very long; I can protect myself and take out the shooters now without having to worry about anyone else."

Corran frowned. "I can deal with them too…"

"But you want to keep your clothes, don't you flyboy?" Mara asked with a smirk.

Sarah wasn't listening, instead muttering, "Stay here." And leaping out the door, wrapped in a crimson blanket of energy as she flung her daggers at the guards; her intended targets went down hard. She headed towards one end of the hall, ignoring the blaster fire pouring at her from the other as she leapt at the enemy forces.

Disarming them quickly, she dealt them blows that would have them out cold as they tried to defend themselves. When she finished the last one with a hammer fist she turned to face the other end; she noticed black suited figures retreating. She laughed, but it was soon cut off as the door to the cell the others were hiding in slid closed; she heard banging as a figure rounded the corner.

She swallowed as she eyed the figure nervously. "That won't hold them for long, Runorlan. You know that as well as I."

"It doesn't have to; it won't take long to deal with a whelp like you and then I can deal with your friends, one by one." He raised a hand, lightning crackling at his fingertips. Sarah raised a shield, and he peered at her curiously. "It seems you have learnt some knew tricks." The lightning dissipated harmlessly when it hit her shield, Sarah smiled grimly, drawing her sword.

He pulled out a lightsaber, and Sarah strode forward. The sound of hissing heralded the Jedi's attempts to break through the door; they were trying to carve through it. _What the hell is taking them so long?_ Sarah thought, glancing briefly at the section of the wall she was certain they would appear through. At her moment of distraction Runorlan swung his lightsaber at her; she barely managed to parry, preventing her head from being sliced off.

She attacked in earnest, lunging and swinging the Yamani blade around as she fought tooth and nail to gain any ground; she almost faltered as she felt herself take first one, then two steps backwards. He scored an injury down her arm; she cried out as the flesh burnt and seared; her left arm hung uselessly at her side.

His next attack drove her to one knee; he hammered at her as she held her sword above her head, driving off his attack. She rolled under his guard, coming up behind him and swinging at his side; he parried easily, turning to face her once more, bloodlust on his face. Sweat poured down her face, obscuring her vision as she struggled to deflect what was little more than scarlet blurs coming at her from every side; _I need to end this, now, before I get any worse off…_

Sarah gritted her teeth and redoubled her efforts, surprising him with a front flip over his head- boosted by the Gift, though she would never tell Wildcat that- and a reckless swing at the back of his unprotected neck.

Three things happened at once; The Jedi finally managed to carve through the durasteel door; Sarah saw the segment that fell from the wall was at least twelve inches thick. They ran out into the corridor just as her blade dug deeply into Lord Runorlan's neck, and he exploded in a burst of brilliant blue energy. Sarah was flung backwards ten feet, into the wall as the energy hammered her; driving her into unconsciousness.

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Her eyelids fluttered as she heard Luke calling to her. Someone was shaking her arm, and when she opened her eyes she groaned, her right hand reaching for her head as she struggled to sit up. "Careful, easy now." He soothed, and she shot him a dirty look.

"Do they _always_ explode when they're killed?" She asked, grumpily massaging a sore spot on the back of her head; when her hand came away it came away red.

Corran laughed. "Yep. That was some good work you did there, kid."

"I'm not a kid." Sarah muttered as she wiped her hand on her shirt before reaching for Luke's outstretched hand. He levered her into a standing position; she had to lean hard against the wall to avoid falling back down. She hissed as she bumped her arm. "What the hell took you so long, anyway? Twelve inch metal too thick for you?"

"Yes." Luke replied evenly, watching as she swayed. "Do you have a concussion? Can you see straight?"

"Yes and barely." She muttered as she pushed herself off her leaning post, stumbling a little before she straightened. "But we have to deal with the shield generators… hey, where's my sword?"

Han grimaced and pointed to the wall, about five feet away. It was embedded at least a foot in; Sarah winced and tried to pull it out. It wouldn't budge. "Oh come on! I can _so_ not be bothered King Arthur-ing it out of the wall, cut me some slack!" When no divine voice answered her plea, she growled and tugged harder.

Sarah had an idea, and turned to Luke. "Can I borrow your lightsaber?"

He shook his head. "I'll cut it loose for you." Sarah shrugged, and he stabbed his lightsaber into the wall, angling inwards slightly to make a cone of durasteel.

Corran was confused. "Why are we bothering with a sword; you've got another one and we need to get moving."

Sarah glared at him. "Because this sword cost a fortune and it was a gift from my teacher."

"I'm sure the New Republic will reimburse you for a replacement…" He trailed off when everyone started shaking their heads. _Apparently_, he hadn't been told the full story behind Sarah's existence in their dimension.

"New Republic credits are useless where I'm going." Sarah smirked as the sword fell out of the wall; Luke began hacking at the metal, and it fell apart to reveal an unblemished saber. "Thanks Luke!" Sarah said brightly before looking around. "Now, just where are these shield generators, do you think?"

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With Runorlan gone they made short work of the shield generators, and now found themselves running as quickly as they could manage towards their ships. The guards had fled when the shield went down; now all that remained was to get off the planet before Wedge started the planetary bombardment.

Sarah was staggering every few moments as they ran; she saw Han say something to Chewie and the Wookie stopped just long enough to scoop her into a fireman's carry. "Put me down! I can make it on my own, put me down you walking carpet!" She heard his chuckle and growled; each step he took sent her thumping into his back. He didn't put her down until they had made it to the cockpit of the _Falcon_; Han and Leia went straight for the gun turrets.

She pulled on her crash webbing one handed, wincing as every movement seemed to bump her arm, and Chewie took off, rejoining the quickly ending space battle. Corran rejoined Rogue Squadron for the remainder of the battle, and they helped the New Republic forces mop up a few more of the TIEs. The four remaining enemy capital ships surrendered unconditionally.

When the _Falcon_ took berth in the flagship, the _Mon Remonda_, Sarah disembarked to a crowd of backslapping and cheering. She watched as the pilots mingled, grins on their faces, as they described a manoeuvre or bragged about how many kills they made in the battle. As Han, Leia and Chewie walked down the ramp a voice nearby called, "Chief of State on deck!" And everyone stood to attention.

Sarah glanced at Leia, who had a slightly amused expression on her face. The knight sidled up next to the woman with a mischievous grin as she asked quietly, "Do you ever just walk back up the ramp and come back down again repeatedly? Like, wait until they're at ease and walk back down the ramp?"

Leia grinned and shook her head. "That's something Han would do. At ease." She called in a louder voice as her husband objected.

"Hey! I was General of this ship once, and I never, _never_ did that." He sounded miffed, until Chewie harrumphed a contradiction.

"Oh, he did, did he?" Leia asked, and they made their way to Luke and Mara, who had berthed some distance away from the _Falcon_ and were just climbing down their ladders. Luke removed his helmet; the reaction was the same as the arrival of the Chief of State.

"At ease, I'm not a Commander anymore." He called loudly, and business resumed once again, until Wedge entered the room. This time the pilots and flight deck officers weren't relieved so quickly, the General strode down the rows of triumphant faces, stopping every once and a while to speak to a pilot or shake a hand. Sarah saw him stop before a pilot she recognized- _That's Winter's boyfriend. Tycho…Celchu?-_ she thought to herself as she wondered briefly whether she should be saluting.

Shaking her head she stood still, waiting with Leia and the others for him to make his way to them. When he did his eyes searched his friends for any injury; he asked in a low voice, "Was he dealt with?"

Han nodded, laying a hand heavily on Sarah's left shoulder as she winced. "Sarah here was worth her weight in gold; she did all the hard work for us."

His eyes met hers, and she shrugged uncomfortably. "That's what I was here for…"

Leia removed her husband's hand with a reproachful glare. "And you're welcome here anytime."

Wedge was nodding, but Sarah didn't see as a voice intruded in her mind. _If you don't want everyone here fainting from the shock of my appearance, I suggest you move this gathering to some place _quieter. Mithros' voice sounded dryly amused. Sarah's eyes widened and she cleared her throat. "Um, General Antilles, sir, can we all go someplace more private than this? I figure you don't want to cause mass heart attacks and Mithros wants a word."

He nodded and they set out quickly to his office, which was quite a distance away. When they had reached the confines of the office and the door was closed there was a crack and the god of war was standing before them. "It is time to leave, Messenger."

Sarah's jaw dropped. "But I haven't had time to say goodbye to anyone… what about the kids?"

He wasn't amused. "You don't have a choice; you said you wanted to return to Tortall as soon as possible. You will have the option of returning whenever you wish, like you do with every other realm you visit. As it is, now it is time to leave."

Sarah sighed and turned to the people arrayed in the room. Han and Leia were watching Mithros with a dirty look on their faces, Sarah thought Chewie might be wearing a similar expression. Luke and Mara were watching curiously, and Wedge looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "Well… I guess I'd better go. I can't let those Carthakis hurt anyone back home. I _will_ be back for a visit though." She met Han and Leia's eyes. "Tell the children I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye, and know you're all welcome in Tortall any time. I'll be back for my weapons later." She directed the last sentence to Luke; half her weapons cache was still on Yavin Four, and nodded to each of the others. "See ya."

Mithros whisked her away, and Sarah landed roughly in her office in Greenstone; she fell on her left arm as she lost her balance. "_Ow_…" She muttered, pushing herself to her feet as the door swung open, revealing Kris walking in, a frown on his face as he puzzled over what looked like a financial report.

When he saw her his jaw dropped. "Milady- I mean Sarah, you're back so soon!"

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Sarah had ridden to Corus the day she had returned to Tortall at full pelt, rushing into the King's study after palming Topaz off to Stefan, the stablehand. When she saw King Jonathon of Conte sharing a decanter of port with his prime minister, Sir Gareth of Naxen the Younger, and his Champion, Sir Alanna of Pirate's Swoop, all of whom were looking decidedly relaxed and content, she drew up short. "Ah… forgive me, Majesty, but I was under the impression we had a problem with Carthaki rebels. Why are we all just sitting around?"

"Sarah!" Alanna had shot to her feet when the young woman entered the room. "That was a short mission…"

Sarah nodded before looking pointedly at the King. "So, is there a problem with the Carthaki rebels, or was Mithros just being a pain in the rump like always?"

"Mithros appeared before the Carthaki rebels and warned them against angering the gods." Jon answered, and Sarah breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Good. I suppose I should have bowed or something, but the moment's ruined so I think I'm going to sit down…" She thumped heavily into a chair, and Alanna moved to her side worriedly.

"Sarah, what's wrong?"

"Hmm?" Sarah shrugged. "Oh, the usual. Concussion, lightsaber wound, I half drained my Gift defeating a Dark Jedi. You get the gist. Just you _wait_ until I tell you about where I went this time."

Jon poured her a drink; Sarah screwed up her nose. "Uh uh. Don't you remember the last time I tried port? Almost blew up the left wing of the palace, my control of the Gift got that bad." He quickly withdrew the drink, and Sarah put her feet up on his desk. "Oh, and I'd like your permission to invite the leader of the place I was sent and her family here; the kids are just adorable and I want to dispel the 'homeless kid' view they have of me."

Alanna coughed lightly. "It seems you have a lot of explaining to do…"

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"Introducing Her Excellency, Chief of State of the New Republic Leia Organa Solo, princess of Alderaan, her husband, Retired General Han Solo, and their children, Jacen, Jaina and Anakin Solo." The herald announced, and Sarah watched as the family strode through the doors to the banquet hall.

She shook her head as she saw Jacen sulking; he had wanted to visit the menagerie before they attended the banquet in the honour of the 'foreign dignitaries'. When Leia had accepted her offer of a visit to Tortall Jon had decided to go all out, throwing a banquet that rivalled those of Midwinter. _And now_, Sarah noticed as she listened, _he's referring to her as his royal 'cousin'. I never did get that term…_ She snapped back to focus as the herald announced Luke.

"Introducing Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, Knight of the New Republic and founder of the Jedi Academy." Luke strode through the door, an air of confidence around him as he approached the dais, bowing low to King Jonathon and Queen Thayet. Sarah had winced at the description the herald had given. _I just hope Luke doesn't offend any of the conservatives, as a 'Knight' he'll have no excuse not to duel them if they challenge him._

"Presenting Sir Sarah Gibson of Greenstone, Adept Mage and Shang in training, and the Messenger for the Gods."

Sarah grinned at the herald as she stepped through the doors, striding towards the king and queen in her green, flowing breeches and her brown silk shirt. She bowed, grinning up at Thayet as the queen returned her smile. Jon spoke just loud enough for Sarah to hear. "I hope Master Skywalker doesn't offend anyone; as a knight it will be difficult to refuse a challenge."

Sarah nodded. "I know. I'm just hoping if he does then whoever challenges them isn't smart enough to put a stipulation on what _kind _of sword he's allowed to use. I'd just love to see Sir Ansil of Groten's face when he finds a melted pile of metal where his Raven Armoury sword used to be."

Thayet let out a snicker, and Jon dismissed Sarah to join the family of New Republicans at the long table on the dais. Daine and Numair were the next to be announced, and Sarah waved them over on their way past. "Hey, Daine, you busy tomorrow?" At the shake of the Wildmage's head Sarah continued. "How's about a guided tour of the menagerie for my buddy Jacen here?" She patted the boy on the shoulder, his eyes lit up.

"Sure." Daine grinned at the boy, but the continued tide of the nobility pushed the pair along before she could say anything else.

Sarah leaned past Luke and Han to grin at Leia. "Consider this a part payment for letting me crash at your joint."

"Sarah, I've already told you-" Leia's response was cut off by Sarah turning to Luke.

"Oh, and Mr I'm A Jedi _Knight_, don't go insulting anyone unless you want to find yourself in a duel tomorrow. If anyone goads you don't take the bait." She was decidedly cheering, considering the social event had been forced on her and the family by Royal Decree.

"I would never-" Luke look confused, but Sarah cut him off too.

"I know that, everyone who knows you knows that, but the fact of the matter is that you might accidentally say something wrong and end up in a fight with very pointy swords. You have to admit, Leia got the diplomacy genes, and you didn't." She turned to Alanna, ignoring his response as the redhead sat next to her. "And how are you this fine evening?"

She glared grumpily at the all too cheery girl. "I've been ordered to a court function, how do you think I am? Why are you so cheery?"

Sarah smiled cheekily. "I have absolutely no idea."

The long line of nobility dwindled, and the king and queen took up seats on Leia's other side as pages bearing finger dipping bowls made their way from the kitchens, heading to the many different tables in the banquet hall, resplendent in their gold and red uniforms.

Dinner passed without event, although Sarah did notice Sir Ansil of Groten glaring at her from his table. "Oh what's his problem now!" She snapped as Alanna pointed it out. "If he causes trouble he'd better hope he can afford the duelling fee when he loses." Several times since first setting foot on Tortallan soil Sarah had duelled him; each time she beat him without much trouble.

Now, as they stood around the dance floor of the ballroom Sarah watched, her eyes narrowed as he made his way towards the group. His voice dripped with ice as he ignored the women of the group and spoke to Han and Luke. "So, in your realm is it considered acceptable for women to fight alongside the men?"

Han growled at his tone, doing an excellent impression of an angry Chewbacca. Sarah laid a hand on his arm, stopping him as he attempted to step forward. "Why don't you ask Her Excellency, the Chief of State? I'm sure you meant no offence, but some of the greatest warriors of their realm, Her Excellency included, are women."

"I wasn't talking to you, Greenstone." He snarled, and Sarah shook her head.

"I know. I'm just an inferior woman sticking her head into other people's business. But consider this for a moment; the last person to take such a tone with His Majesty's guests is still off running border patrols; he hasn't been back to the palace for four seasons, such was His Majesty's anger. How do you think he would feel about you questioning Her Excellency's integrity?" Sarah kept her voice even, but she saw Alanna stiffen beside her and reach for a riding glove. Meeting the Champion's eyes in a glance, she shook her head. When Sir Ansil didn't reply, Sarah continued. "So, I'm going to make this easy for you. Walk away, and we'll all conveniently forget you came over to address General Solo and Master Skywalker, okay?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me what to do, _progressive_. I could buy and sell the likes of you ten times over without breaking a sweat." He spoke with contempt, but his eyes widened in shock as slapped him across the face.

"Good! I guess you won't mind, then, if we settle this on the duelling fields." She smiled at the man, and suddenly he realised just how outnumbered he was.

Snorting like an enraged bull, he nodded quickly. "I shall see you tomorrow, on the duelling fields, an hour after dawn."

Sarah shrugged. "Alrighty then. In the meantime, can you leave us alone? Your over-enlarged head is blocking my view of the dance floor."

In a final huff he stalked away, and Sarah drained her fruit juice. "Well, that was fun. Can you see why I didn't want you to talk to the conservatives, Luke? No matter what you said, if you gave the impression that you encouraged women in the armed forces they'd probably have challenged you to a duel." She sighed. "I guess I'd better report the duel to the king. Don't be afraid to dance, Leia, Han. Just get out there on the dance floor, show everyone an Alderaanian waltz or Corellian foxtrot."

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The early morning found Sarah stretching in a training field, a belt around her waste with her broad sword hanging from it. She was speaking to Leia in a carefree voice as the family, plus Alanna, Thayet and Wildcat, surrounded her. "You see, he wanted to duel this early because he knew- the whole _palace_ knew- that I had been ordered to the banquet. I had to stay there until the very end of it, whereas he got to leave whenever he wanted. So while he was sneaking off to bed at a reasonable hour, I was stuck bowing and scraping to the 'foreign dignitaries', and thus he got a better rest than me. It's just one way the conservatives try to get an edge over us progressives in a duel."

"Right. So that still doesn't explain why you challenged him." Leia folded her arms against her chest.

Sarah straightened. "Would you relax? I do this all the time. He hasn't ever beaten me, and had I not challenged him I would have been negligent in my duty to defend your honour. He might even have been so rash as to challenge you or Han or Luke, and though I would love to see his sword versus Luke's lightsaber, I couldn't allow that."

The other knight was standing at the far end of the pitch, his sword bare in his hand as he waited impatiently for Sarah's fanclub to leave the field. "I guess that's my cue. Go on, wait at the fence, this won't take long and then we'll go to the menagerie."

Leia sighed and shepherded the children before her; Alanna patted Sarah on the shoulder as her and Wildcat left Sarah standing alone. The young knight bared her sword and bowed low to Jonathon, who was officiating the duel. "You are duelling to first blood. Bow to your opponents-" Sarah joined Ansil in bending the bare minimum towards her opponent. "Begin!"

Sarah grinned viciously at Sir Ansil of Groten; the man lunged towards her. Sarah sidestepped, not bothering to block as his sword sailed past. _This really isn't fair to him. If he'd had the amount of Shang training I have he might stand a chance._ She jabbed a quick attack at him, he parried and returned with a downwards slice. Sarah blocked using the ever useful crescent block; he left an opening which she soon exploited. Her sword kissed his neck. "Yield." She smirked. "Drop your sword, and yield."

He growled. "If we had been tilting…"

Sarah laughed loud enough for the people at the fence to hear. "You forget the last duel so quickly? We were tilting, and I still throttled you! Now yield!"

He dropped his sword, a thunderous look on his face. "I yield." He said quietly.

"Louder. I don't think His Majesty heard you." Her voice betrayed her amusement.

"I yield." He repeated, louder.

"Good." She lowered her sword, bowed to Jon, and turned back to her friends clapping at the fence.

When she strode towards them Alanna remarked, "That was quicker than usual."

Sarah shrugged. "Yeah, that crescent block is really useful." She turned back to Sir Ansil, calling loudly, a grin on her face, "Don't forget my ten gold nobles, Groten! I want them by sundown tomorrow!"

He stalked off without acknowledging her, and Sarah turned back to her friends, sighing in content. "There's nothing like an easy duel to start off the day. Who's ready for the menagerie?"

A/n. The End! I just wanted to add that last bit because… well… the chapter was only 5 pages (in MS Word) at the place that I wanted to end it.


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